Crookston School Board and CEA – Cap on insurance makes deal ‘historic’ for school district

March 29--The Crookston School Board at a special meeting Thursday approved a two-year contract settlement that was tentatively reached between the board and teachers' union, the Crookston Education Association earlier this month. The CEA, which had been working without a contract since the summer of 2017, voted earlier this week to ratify the agreement, which covers the current school year and also the 2018-19 school year.

The contract includes no salary increase for CEA members this year, board member and lead board negotiator Tim Dufault explained, but every teacher will receive a one-time, lump-sum payment of $1,200. In the 2018-19 school year, CEA members will receive a 3 percent salary increase.

Superintendent Chris Bates told the Times that he thinks the agreement is a "historic" one for the district because it places a cap on health insurance costs paid by the district. "We are no longer at the mercy of the increases, which was 23 percent last year," Bates said. "When you don't see something like that coming, and how could you, really, it can be a financial disaster because, by the contract, it was all our responsibility.

"But this agreement, this protects the school district going forward," he added.

Bates said many other districts' agreements with their teachers put an insurance cap in place several years ago. He said he recalls being at state superintendents' conferences when the next year's health insurance premium numbers would be released, and "I'd be doing all this calculating and stressing out, and all of the other superintendents that had a cap, they were calm," Bates said.

"Our teachers deserve all kinds of credit for coming forward and approving this cap," he added.

Sara Geist, the CEA's lead negotiator, explained that in the past the CEA and the district have shared the cost of insurance through a percentage method. Moving forward, she said, the board will contribute a defined monetary amount toward insurance premiums, and rate increases will be absorbed by CEA members. As part of that change, Geist told the Times, the CEA voted to move from the Northwest Service Cooperative, which manages the CEA's plan with BlueCross BlueShield, to the Public Employees Insurance Program (PEIP), which will also allow CEA members to continue using BlueCross BlueShield as their health plan/network. "PEIP coverage was designed to provide long-term rate stability by pooling our group experience with that of other public employee groups," she explained.

The new contract also includes enhancements to the teachers' retirement plans. Bates has previously discussed major challenges with the Teacher Retirement Account (TRA) system, and he said the Minnesota Legislature this year is facing a united front from the state teachers' union, school boards association and superintendents' association to make some meaningful reforms. The fear, Bates said, is an unstable and unpredictable TRA system will lead to more talented young professionals choosing careers besides teaching.

Dufault said Thursday that the "tweaked" retirement contributions from the district will give teachers a "quicker investment into their retirement." Geist added that the new 403b contribution design will help "attract and retain talented and skilled educators."

Speaking on behalf of the CEA, Geist said the contract agreement represents a "dedicated effort by the teachers and school board's negotiating team in finding compromises that we believe will work for all parties involved." As a result of a mutual willingness to meet somewhere near the middle, Geist said the positive result is an "environment that provides the best services and instruction to our students and their families."

Board chair Frank Fee was unable to attend Thursday's meeting, but he indicated earlier this week that if he was able to attend, he'd vote resoundingly in favor of the new contract. Also, board member Dave Davidson, whose wife, Kim, is a CEA member, abstained from Thursday's vote on the contract.

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