Cary D-26 Board Imposes Its' Last Best Offer

Cary School District 26 Board of Education "regrets" to announce that is has been unable to reach a negotiated agreement with the , a district press release said.

At the start of the school year, the board will impose its' last best offer, which means teachers will start the school year working under the terms of the board's last-best contract offer, the release said. 

The teachers' union has never mentioned striking, however its' still a possibility, the district release said.

"By law, before striking the CEA must provide ten day's written notice to the district," the release said.

Board of Education Last Best Offer

Salary: Overall decrease of 1.7 percent. This does not mean that all will teachers will receive a 1.7 percent cut next year.

Because a retirement program was in the 2008-2011 contract, eligible teachers who have worked for the district for as few as 15 years will get 6 percent increases in their salaries the last four years before their retirement. 

As a result, 52 teachers-a full third of the remaining teaching staff will get 6 percent salary increases next year.

"Because these bulit-in retiree pay raises eat up so much money, the remaining staff would take pay cuts of 7.5 percent next year under the board's proposal," the district release said. 

Retirement: Under the 2008-11 contract, eligible teachers not only receive up to four consecutive years of 6 percent increases in salary, they also receive $20,000 immediately after they retire and the board is obligated to pay $10 for each day of sick leave the teacher had not used up. These benefits are expected to cost $1.2 million over the next four years.

The district has proposed eliminating these benefits for future retirees since they are exceedingly expensive for a district in as financial condition as ours.

Insurance: Under the 2008-11 contract, the board paid 100 percent of the premium for single health and dental coverages for teachers and between 20 percent and 50 percent of premium for family health and dental coverage that is in excess of the cost of the single benefit.

Each teacher also receives $50,000 in life insurance and long-term disability coverages. This program has proved to be extremely costly. To help balance its' budget, the board is offering in 2011-2012 to contribute up to $7,000 toward whatever coverage the teacher elects, and in the 2012-13 school year up to $3,000 toward whatever coverage the teacher elects.

Teachers' Share and Pension Contributions: Teachers' are obligated by law to pay about 9.4 percent of their current salary to the Teachers' Retirement System to help fund their portion of their pension.

In the past, the board agreed to pay 4.7 percent, or about half of this obligation. The board also has its' own TRS obligation for each teacher. Since this pension payment is essentially an obligation of the teacher stemming from the need to fund his or her own retirement, the board is proposing to have each teacher pay this 4.7 percent amount beginning in 2011-12.

Length of School Day: The board has proposed that the work day increase from 7 hours and 15 minutes to 7 hours and 30 minutes in order to restore student learning time to six hours.

Last year, student learning time was decreased to the state minimum of five hours to keep the overall teacher workday within the limits of the teachers' contract then in place.