Teachers to receive 3.5% raise

PROVO — The Provo Education Association ratified a contract Tuesday for the 2006-07 school year, which started on Monday.

"It was about 2 1/2 to 1" in favor of the contract, said Lynda Westover, president of PEA.

Teachers and classified employees will receive a 3.5 percent pay raise, said Paul Baum, executive director of Bonneville Uniserv, which represents the Utah Education Association in Utah and Carbon counties.

The new contract, which goes into effect in September, states that employees will pay for 20 percent of their health insurance premiums and the district will cover the remaining 80 percent.

Last year, employees paid for 5 percent of their health insurance premiums. And in years before that, the district paid the premiums.

However, the district's health insurance company raised the price of coverage by about 13 percent for the 2006-07 school year, up to $7.9 million from $7 million, district business administrator Kerry Smith said.

"Basically, what's driving (increased costs) is utilization, which of course is the cost we incur, the district incurs, the employees incur," Smith said. "Medical inflation is part of that."'

Employees will also all receive a one-time, 1 percent bonus in December.

The bonus was supposed to be tied to the sale of the former Joaquin Elementary property. The sale has not been finalized but employees will receive the bonus, Smith said.

Entry-level teaching salaries in the Provo district are about $26,000. The average teacher makes about $35,000, Baum said.

Under the new contract, single employees will pay about $51 a month for health insurance. Employees with families will pay $157, and employees who want coverage for themselves and a spouse will pay about $110, Smith said.

As a result, some classified employees may notice a decrease in their paychecks from this year to last if their salaries are low and if they do not qualify for an additional pay raise, called a "step," that rewards milestones in an employee's career, such as years of service.

Smith did not know how many classified employees would be affected, but said it would be less than 100. Provo School District has about 1,100 full-time employees who receive health insurance.

"The total compensation package is about 6.8 percent," Smith said.

Negotiations in most of the state's 40 school districts were complete in the spring. Provo's were delayed because of debate over the health insurance premiums.

District officials were waiting for a $1.5 million increase in the voted leeway, which passed in late June, to know for sure how much money they had.

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com