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Union, school district come to agreement

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For the first time in at least four years, Newport-Mesa Unified School District teachers are likely to see an increase in pay this school year.

Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers representatives and district officials signed the tentative three-year contract on Monday.

The contract will go to the board of education for approval in September, said John Caldecott, executive director of human resources.

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The contract grants teachers a 6% raise and maintains their current medical benefits with Anthem Blue Cross.

However, because of rising healthcare costs, teachers would be required to pay about $1,182 more per year for health insurance, according to the contract.

Employee healthcare costs the district $39 million annually, Caldecott said.

The economic downturn several years ago forced many school districts to cut pay and implement furlough days, something Newport-Mesa avoided, Caldecott said, adding that he is pleased that the district was able to offer pay increases this year.

“It’s positive both for the teachers and the district,” he said.

Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers Executive Director Nicholas Dix could not immediately be reached for comment.

Contract resolution didn’t come easily for the two parties.

In June, teachers, pointing to what they called unfair bargaining practices, protested outside the district offices on Bear Street.

The union took issue with Supt. Fred Navarro’s newsletter, “Dot,” which is circulated to all district employees. In the newsletter, Navarro wrote about some of the items being negotiated, including pay and health benefits.

Union leaders felt that Navarro was attempting to negotiate in public, which made teachers uncomfortable.

Navarro contended that his newsletter didn’t violate any negotiation or labor practices.

“My goal has and continues to be to maintain open and honest communication in an ‘information sharing’ manner so that all N-MUSD stakeholders can make informed decisions with all of the facts,” Navarro said in a statement to the Daily Pilot at the time.

The teachers union and district also worked out a three-year term for the tentative contract, meaning that instead of negotiating annually, as they’ve done for the past several years, the organizations won’t bargain again until 2017.

A longer-term agreement is beneficial, Caldecott said, because it allows the district and union more time to discuss issues.

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