by Aaron Tinklenberg
THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS

Ten months of mediation between the Farmington School District and its teachers ended Feb. 25, but without a contract agreement.

The two sides had been meeting with the help of a state-appointed mediator since June 2003, but a lack of progress prompted an end to those efforts. District and teachersí union officials, however, said future face-to-face negotiations are likely to be scheduled soon.

When talks ended, District 192 officials had offered teachers a two-year package representing a 9.24 percent increase in total compensation, according to a release issued by the schools March 1. Under that proposal, the average teacher salary and benefit package would reach $61,000, the release said.

Farmington Educators Association representatives were requesting a 10.7 percent total increase over two years. The union also sought to shorten the contract year by three days, from 184 to 181, the districtís release stated.

Superintendent Brad Meeks, who was present at the most recent mediation sessions, said the difference between the two offers represents about $300,000. While he admitted that budget cuts for 2004-05 would have to reflect that additional amount, he said he did not attribute the districtís budget woes to the teacher contract.

ìWe know that things are more complicated than that, and we know that teachers are the most important part of the district,î Meeks said. ìWeíre prepared to make the [budget] adjustments necessary to get the contract settled.î

The Farmington schools statement noted the average settlement for Minnesota school teachers was a 7.79-percent compensation increase over two years. For districts with more than 200 teachers, the average was 8.39 percent.

The statement also showed that the work year in School District 196 (Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan) is 185 days. In Lakeville, teachers have 186 contract days and in Hastings they have 184 days.

Meeks said he hasnít directly compared Farmington teacher salaries with those in neighboring districts.

Teachers have been working under an expired contract since July 1, 2003. That contract was not resolved until May 2002, after teachers had begun demonstrating at school board meetings and working only the hours required by their contract.

A statement from the Farmington Educators Association was not received before this edition went to press.

Aaron Tinklenberg is at farmington.thisweek@ecm-inc.com.

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