UPDATE: West Bloomfield Teachers Approve New Two-Year Contract

Members of the West Bloomfield Education Association voted Wednesday to that includes a 5 percent pay cut, increased health care contributions and a step freeze in the second year of the contract.

The vote in the media center was approved by a margin that was “not overwhelming,” said Cyndi Austin, Uniserve director for the Michigan Education Association. Austin has bargained with the school district on behalf of the WBEA since October 2009.

Members left the media center in small groups, with some maintaining vocal opposition to the proceedings. The vote was held after two meetings that began at 2:30 p.m. and ended around 6 p.m. to accommodate the schedules of secondary and elementary school teachers, some of whom left well before the end of the meeting.

“It was sad. This has been a long ordeal for everyone and very difficult bargaining,” Austin said afterward. “We have lots of discussions, lots of questions being asked … a lot of people concerned about what’s happening and what the potential could be. I’m all questioned out right now.”

Austin said that the contract’s passage meant that May 9 would be dropped. That injunction alleged that the “unilateral” imposed on teachers by the Board of Education at its meeting March 31 was in violation of Michigan’s Public Employment Relations Act regarding unfair labor practices.

Austin said that neither the dropped lawsuit nor the approved contract will be able to completely heal a district which still faced a $187,000 deficit for the 2010-11 school year even after the contract was imposed. The district could face a deficit of almost $4.3 million for the 2011-12 school year based on predictions drawn from Gov. Rick Snyder’s 2011 budget proposal May 20.

The two biggest sources of contention between the district and teachers union have been teachers’ salaries and fringe benefits. The proposed contract calls for a 5 percent off-schedule wage reduction in the first year and a cut of 7.5 percent in the second year, based on a letter of understanding including language to allow for an off-schedule salary cut of between 5 percent and 7 percent based on the per-pupil foundation allowance being cut by less than $400 (state or federal dollars) in the 2011-12 school year.

“There’s a lot of savings (in the new contract) — close to $6 million over two years,” Austin said. “I know the district is still looking to make more cuts, but I don’t know where. I know that this won’t solve all of the financial woes of the district, some of which the state is responsible for.”

Teacher benefit insurance would be changed effective July 1; teachers would contribute $60 per month for a single subscriber, $80 per month for two subscribers, or $100 per month for the whole family. It also includes a $200/$400 deductible, which goes against the recommendation by fact finder Michael P. Long, a neutral labor expert selected by the State Board of Education in January. The recommendation was that the district institute a $300 per person/$600 per family deductible. That is an increase from a zero deductible under the old contract.

Assistant superintendent Rick Arnett said Thursday that the contract will face another ratification vote by the board of education June 6, which will "complete the process."

"This district has to be fiscally responsible. Our goal is to move on. If the opportunity presents itself to bring our employees back to previous levels of pay, we hope to be able to do so," Arnett said, declining further comment.

Correction: The board of education will vote on ratification at its meeting on Monday, June 6.