KELSEYVILLE — A tentative agreement between the Kelseyville Unified School District (KUSD) and the Kelseyville Unified Teachers Association (KUTA) was finalized late last month.
The district Board of Trustees approved the agreement by a 4-0 vote at a special meeting on April 30. Gary Olson recused himself because his wife is a teacher.
Superintendent Dave McQueen said it was good the two sides came to an agreement.
“We got that taken care of,” he said.
KUTA president Rico Abordo said the union is glad the “long, tedious process” reached an end.
“It was a situation of sacrifice on both sides,” Abordo said. “It allows us now to focus on the primary purpose of educating our students.”
Contract negotiations reached an impasse in November. The district and union entered into state mediation sessions in January. The talks continued into March before the tentative agreement was reached.
The county Board of Education reviewed the agreement and the teacher”s union ratified it by a 76-4 vote on March 23.
The terms of the agreement give KUSD teachers a 2-percent raise for the 2012-13 school year and a 2.5-percent raise for 2013-14. The agreement also reduces the cap for health and welfare benefits from approximately $20,800 annually to $16,000 annually per full-time employee.
KUSD financial analysis expected the raises would be offset by the reductions in health and welfare benefits. Anticipated savings are approximately $419,000 for the 2012-13 school year and $454,000 for 2013-14.
A letter from Michelle Buell, of the Lake County Office of Education, stated KUSD is expected to have a deficit, with expenditures for the 2013-14 school year exceeding revenues by approximately $1.4 million.
Kevin N. Hume can be reached at kevin.n.hume@gmail.com or call directly 263-5636 ext. 14. Follow on Twitter: @KevinNHume.
