By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

Trustees for the Benicia Unified School District on Thursday voted 4-1 in favor of an agreement with the California School Employees Association, Chapter 1096, that would give non-teaching employees a 2.5-percent raise this year and next.

“Negotiations with CSEA have lasted almost a year,” Assistant Superintendent Michael Gardner said.

“The sessions were conducted in an atmosphere of mutual respect and consideration of all viewpoints,” he added, pointing out that over the past five years classified employees have suffered through furlough days, reduction in hours and layoffs.

The new agreement calls for an increase in classified employees’ pay of 2.5 percent for the 2012-13 school year, retroactive to July 1, 2012, and an additional increase of 2.5 percent in the 2013-14 school year.

The agreement also calls for an increase from six to 11 steps on the classified salary schedule. Steps seven through 11 will be at 1 percent each step.

Employees can only advance one step at a time with the new schedule, which takes effect July 1.

Board President Rosie Switzer, who taught for 35 years in the district, explained the step system. “On the certificated (teaching staff) salary schedule we went from a 12- or 13-step schedule to about a 17- or 18-step schedule by adding anniversary increments over the years, to give raises to long-term employees,” she said.

Switzer said the classified employees’ schedule has fewer steps and no increase based on added education or training. “What happens is, if you are 22 years old and are hired in our district as a custodian or office worker, and you’re here for 20 years, you might get raises, but you wouldn’t get any steps once you reached that step six,” she said.

“That meant basically for the last five years those people that were at step six received no increase in compensation.”

The added steps are not 5-percent raises as in the first six steps, she said. “You can’t get more than one step per year, but this gives those people at step six some relief in addition to any pay raise they might get.”

“I think I’d like to take a deep breath,” Trustee Dana Dean said prior to the vote. “It’s been a rough several years. I hope the public recognizes that we are making a distinct choice to invest in the people who have served this community.”

Trustee Steve Messina had issue with the new salary schedule, but was supportive of giving the employees a raise.

“I’m a little bit between a rock and a hard spot in part of this contract. In terms of pay increases there is no doubt in my mind that personnel have worked hard,” he said. “They are very deserving of this.”

Messina, who would be the only vote against the motion, said while he supports a raise for classified employees, he was against the increases as laid out in the steps system. “I think it’s a broken system, and I think we can do better. I don’t begrudge that we are giving the individuals a raise, it is in terms of how we present it.”

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