Santa Rosa City Schools set to approve two contracts

Santa Rosa City Schools trustees are set to approve union contracts Wednesday that give classified employees raises and more money toward medical care.

The agreements come at a time when the Santa Rosa Teachers Association, which represents about 800 teachers, counselors, nurses, psychologists and speech therapists, remains locked in acrimonious negotiations with the district over the same issues.

Classified employees include maintenance, transportation, library workers and instructional assistants and others.

The tentative contracts with California School Employees Associations locals 367 and 75 are set to be approved by the school board during tonight’s board of trustees meeting. One union voted last week to ratify its tentative agreement. The other is scheduled to hold a vote before the May 27 board meeting.

Both contracts include 2 percent salary raises retroactive to July 1, 2014, and a medical cap increase of about $23 to $591 per monthly.

The district said the agreements will cost $330,000 in the current year, $334,000 next school year and $347,000 in 2016-17.

The SRTA and the district are in talks assisted by a state mediator after both sides agreed they had reached an impasse.

Teachers, who negotiated away district-paid health benefits for a higher base pay more than a decade ago, are seeking a 5 percent total compensation bump, which would include $3,500 a year toward health benefits. The district has offered a 2 percent pay hike and $1,500 toward medical benefits.

The district says the union’s proposal would cost $5.57 million while its would cost less than half that.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in Santa Rosa City Hall council chambers.

You can reach Lori A. Carter at 521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.