School support staff raises set for vote

Benjamin Grove

Thursday, March 26, 1998 | 10:33 a.m.

The Clark County School District's union-member custodians and secretaries will decide March 31 whether to accept the same salary increases that administrators recently negotiated.

The vote on an 8.75 percent pay increase over two years for the 5,000-member Education Support Employees Association follows what has been one of the longest salary negotiations ever between the union and district administrators.

Union leaders say most members are ready to settle and believe the agreement is fair. If members approve the agreement, the school board likely would approve it April 1.

"I think that for the most part, people feel good about it," association president Pat BeDunnah said.

The proposed agreement would give support staff employees a 3.5 percent salary increase, plus a 1 percent incentive bonus. The following year, employees would get a 3.25 percent raise, plus another 1 percent bonus. The raise will cost the district about $1.3 million.

It's essentially the same package the School Board ratified Feb. 26 for the district's administrators union.

"Their proposal conformed with what administrators got and the board agreed," the district's chief negotiator Edward Goldman said.

The support staff union membership vote comes at a time when an anonymous memo is being circulated among some members. The memo outlines several reasons why members should support the agreement, but also warns them to be wary of how the union will use the money.

The memo objects to the union using some of the pay raises for retirement for "temporary summer" employees.

BeDunnah defended the union's attempt to create some fairness in benefits among all union members. BeDunnah added that the memo is being circulated shortly after a contentions union president election, in which she won a "hard fought" battle.

"This is a very negative time for some people," BeDunnah said.

District administrators negotiate contracts with four unions: support staff, administrators, teachers and police.

Bargaining with teachers continues in the district's longest negotiation on record. In January, teachers union Executive Director Steve Confer left amid controversy that he emptied the bank account of an Indiana union where he once worked.

Teachers union representatives and administrators met most of the day Wednesday as talks continued. Goldman called negotiations productive. He said the district was prepared to offer teachers the same pay raises it was offering support staff and administrators.

"It's unfortunate that the relationship that has existed in the past year was what it was," Goldman said. "But there's new leadership in the organization and we hope it will be cooperative and fruitful. Things are going very nicely."

School police are asking for higher pay that more closely matches other police agencies.

"We get $12,000 less than North Las Vegas or Henderson," said Clark County School Police Sgt. Phil Gervase, police union chief. "We have the same police academy. We have the same dangers. We do the same job."

Gervase said they expect to reach an agreement soon, as the other three unions ratify agreements.

"We're waiting to see what the district can afford," Gervase said. "We don't have any problems with the administration right now."