By Lori Ehde
After more than six months of negotiating, the Luverne School Board has signed its final contracts.
Agreements were signed in a special School Board meeting Tuesday with paraprofessionals and with supervisory staff.
An emergency meeting was called for noon Wednesday to wrap up the administrative contracts.
All terms of the contract are retroactive dating back to the start of the school year on July 1.
According to Luverne Superintendent Vince Schaefer, no single issue prevented agreements; rather he said there were several issues of equal importance playing a role in the delayed contracts.
"All of it's tied to dollars one way or another, and it can be challenging for human relations," he said. "We negotiated long and hard for over six months."
Paraprofessionals
The paraprofessionals union, which includes teaching assistants, cooks and some secretaries, is a relatively new union. Under the leadership of Rosemary Moerke, this is the second two-year contract the group has negotiated.
The terms of the agreement affect 52 employees.
The contract calls for a 10.9-percent increase in the package of salaries and benefits over a two-year period. Employees will see a 5.9-percent increase the first year, and a 5-percent increase the second year.
There were several issues affecting negotiations, but according to Moerke, the most important wording dealt with seniority.
She said the district often ends up cutting Title 1 positions when funds are low. These people are often hired back or offered positions in other areas, but they are forced to start over as new employees each time, and they lose their seniority.
The new contract protects that seniority from one position to another.
"IÕm happy where we're at. I can live with it," Moerke said. "We can take our baby steps. We gave up a lot because in the end we knew which things we were going to stand up and fight for."
She said the School Board wasnÕt willing to negotiate on any of their requests until after the process moved into mediation. "It was a terrible battle," she said.
Supervisory staff
One-year contracts were also signed with Food Service Director Lorraine Becker, Buildings and Grounds Director Larry Roos and District Financial Officer Marlene Mann.
Becker's salary increased from $23,040 to $24,256 representing a 5.7-percent increase for the more than nine months school is in session.
Roos, who works year-round, saw a 5-percent increase in his salary and benefits, bringing it from $39,000 to $40,144. This includes one additional week of vacation.
Mann's salary rose from $34,236 to $40,580, an 18.5-percent increase. She also received full single insurance coverage.
Her position is also year-round.
According to Schaefer, Mann's salary increase was due largely to a comparable worth study that showed she was paid significantly less than other similar positions in area districts held by people with similar qualifications.
"We needed to bring it up to equality," Schaefer said.
Administrators
An agreement was nearly reached with district administrators Tuesday afternoon, but a last-minute legal question forced negotiations to continue during an emergency meeting Wednesday afternoon.
The two-year administrative contracts affect Elementary Principal Melody Tenhoff, Middle School Principal Dave Deragisch and High School Principal Gary Fisher.
They also affect Community Education Director Karen Willers, Activities Director Harvey Crable and Curriculum Coordinator and Alternative School Director Jan Olson.
Administrators will see a 10-percent increase over the next two years - 5 percent this year (retroactive to July 1) and 5 percent next year.
Tenhoff's salary increased from $59,311 last year to $62,277 this year. An amount is not agreed on for next year.
Deragisch increased from $70,700 to $74,235. That will increase to $77,947 next year.
Fisher's salary was $73,915 last year and $77,611 this year. It will be $81,492 next year.
Willers's salary increased from $33,000 to $34,650, and will be $36,383 next year.
Last year, Crable earned $54,000 plus $3,400 for serving as equipment manager. His compensation for equipment manager will not change, but his salary this year increased to $56,700, and next year it will be $59,535.
Olson's salary did not increase by the straight 10 percent because her contract included two extra work days, and she also received eight paid holidays.
Last year she made $46,560. This year sheÕs earning $52,628, and next year she will make $56,312.