• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

White River Valley Schools Are 'Barely in Business'

Posted on: Wednesday, 2 November 2005, 00:00 CST

By Laura Lane, Herald-Times, Bloomington, Ind.

Nov. 1--SWITZ CITY -- White River Valley School Corp.'s 69 teachers are in their third year without a contract, seeking a 2 percent raise their boss says the district can't afford.

Superintendent Layton Wall understands their frustration, but says he can't spend money he doesn't have.

It would cost the district about $60,000 a year to fund a 2 percent raise for teachers.

During a state budget workshop in June, it appeared the school district would be receiving $94,802 less for the 2005-06 school year than last year. When an official count showed the school has 61 fewer students than last year, a further $256,268 in anticipated funding suddenly was gone.

"The reality is there is no new money, and they are taking away money we thought we would have," Wall said. "We are barely in business. We have less money than we have ever had."

That comes on the heels of operating in the red nine of the past 11 years, Wall added.

Teachers with less than 20 years of experience get incremental raises of 2 to 3 percent each year. Those raises have continued, Wall said, but teachers with 20 or more years in the classroom who have topped out on the salary scale -- at $51,500 -- have not received a raise since 2003.

"We have continued to teach and perform all of our duties in a professional manner during this time," Joyce Thompson, head of the WRV Education Association's bargaining team, said in a written statement. "We are being told that there is no money available for an increase in teacher salaries."

Wall confirmed that is exactly the case. He and the teachers hope to settle on a four-year contract, to cover the past two years, this year and next year. A 2 percent raise over that time period would cost the district about a quarter of a million dollars.

"We are trying to figure out ways to save money, anticipating a 50 percent increase in utility costs," the superintendent said. "This area is in an economic depression. We have been losing a lot of jobs here, and our people are leaving, and it is evidenced by the drop in the number of students."

Bloomfield's KPT tile manufacturing plant, the cord factory in Jasonville, General Electric in Linton, the pork processing plant in Worthington -- all have closed in the past few years.

Parents lose jobs, and families move on.

The teachers' bargaining team and the administration will meet Wednesday after school with hopes of coming to an agreement. Indiana State Teachers Association UniServ Director Rochell Bechtel, who helps teachers in the contract negotiation process, said there have been "numerous" meetings over the past few years, but no resolution.

"Talks have not stalemated or broken down," she said. "But I think teachers are frustrated with the length of time we have been in the bargaining process."

She was reluctant to discuss the talks further, hoping to find common ground, compromise -- and cash for teachers -- during this week's session.

"Here's the reason for the hold-up -- we simply don't have the money," Wall said. "School districts like ours that are not growing are losing money, but we still have the same operating expenses. How can we come up with money for raises when we are losing so much money? We really are broke here."

-----

To see more of the Herald-Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.hoosiertimes.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, Herald-Times, Bloomington, Ind.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Source: Herald-Times

More News in this Category