Bellevue teachers accept a pay freeze
The BEA joined the OAPSE support staff and administrators in taking no base raise and frozen steps for 2011-12.
Bellevue Education Association members ratified a contract Tuesday with no increase in base pay and a freeze on step raises, following the same terms already accepted by the district’s non-teaching union, OAPSE Local 612, and its administrators.
The Board of Education approved the agreement in a special session Wednesday morning. Teachers will keep paying 15 percent of their health insurance premiums. Treasurer Nancy Beier said insurance costs for the whole plan are expected to rise 9 to 11 percent this year. “We are very, very pleased with the negotiations,” she said. “Our teachers definitely are the heart and soul of the district.”
The contract runs July 1 through June 30, 2012. It was the last agreement needed to settle the coming school year, and the district said every employee group has now accepted a pay freeze for 2011-12.
Context: May levy votes and district finances. Contract filings: State Employment Relations Board. More in Schools & Sports.