Provo District hopes to avoid suit

PROVO — The Provo School District superintendent and members of the Board of Education do not want a contract dispute with employees unions to end up in court.

"We believe that cool minds will prevail," Superintendent Randy Merrill said. "And we're continuing to work with the teachers association to (find) solutions to our problems."

School officials had hoped to take the first step in the process on Monday morning during closed meeting that was scheduled for board members to discuss potential lawsuits from employees who are disgruntled over post-retirement benefits for which they are now ineligible.

Apparently not all board members got the message about the meeting. Only three members showed up, and one had to leave early.

The remaining board members shifted the discussion to media coverage and comments they have received from constituents about decisions teachers made Thursday at a meeting with Provo Education Association leaders.

During that meeting, members voted to sue the district over changes in eligibility to Medigap, a supplementary insurance to Medicare, that the district has offered its retired employees in the past.

Employees agreed last year to limit eligibility to people who have worked for the district at least 20 years and who reached age 55 years old by Jan. 1, 2005. Many are now expressing frustration. For the past two decades, they say, teachers have consented to lower pay raises because they believed money was going to Medigap. Now that money has been yanked from them.

District officials contend the district cannot afford to pay next year's Medigap premiums while also putting more than $1 million into a separate fund for future Medigap expenses. The fund is a new requirement of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

Union members instructed the attorney for the Utah Education Association to seek a judgment declaring they are legally entitled to Medigap. Other employees have put up $500 each to retain a Provo litigator who also vows to pursue the matter in court.

"I think it would be unfortunate if it came to a lawsuit because I think that lawsuits can never be a good thing for either side," board president Shannon Poulsen said.

Carolyn Wright, also a board member, has received numerous calls from constituents in support of the teachers. She says she worries about the budget and district's finances.