JEFFERSON TWP - In response to many questions about contract negotiations, the South Butler School Board Wednesday night presented a thorough public explanation of its latest offer to the teachers' union.

The offer, which was forwarded to the union's 181 members on Aug. 24, was voted down by teachers on Aug. 26. The results of that vote have not been made public by the union.

Board member Glenn Lang, who is one of the lead negotiators for the school board, presented the offer.

Lang said the board decided to make its offer public to help dispel some of the incorrect information that has been circulating.

"We've gotten a lot of questions from the public and we feel there is a gross misrepresentation of information going around out there," Lang said.

He covered each of the major areas of contention: salary, work time, healthcare and other language changes, including retirement benefits.

The board's most recent offer to teachers, in brief, includes:Full retroactive pay for the 2003-2004 school year, which had been previously removed by the board.An average annual salary increase of 3.5 percent or $1,819 per teacher, with the previous offer of $1,684. This would amount to a $9,096 per teacher increase, previously at $8,420, over the five-year contract.Average increases for each year are:2003-2004 - $1,815.992004-2005 - $1,792.702005-2006 - $1,852.072006-2007 - $1,907.192007-2008 - $1,728.39An increase in the starting salary of about $4,790, previously at $2,800, over five years at all degree levels. At the bachelors degree level, this would be an increase from $28,831 to $33,621.An increase in the top salary of about $4,750 at all degree levels. At the maximum masters level, this would be an increase from $65,270 to $70,020, previously offered at $64,270 to $69,020.100 percent coverage by the district for the increase in dental plan costs over the five-year contract.A reduction in costs of the board's previous proposal of co-payments for healthcare premiums and changes to the current health plan.No increase in the teacher work day. The previous offer had asked for 10 additional minutes.Teachers to work one additional in-service day in exchange for one additional personal day.Separation of severance and early retirement language, which includes healthcare for retirees and their eligible dependents for a maximum of 14 years or until age 65 following retirement.A 3 percent pay increase for extra-curricular activities.Continuation of full payment for graduate level study.Lang said because the board is now offering retroactive pay that it had previously revoked in June, the district would have to reduce its already low budgetary reserve fund of $621,377 by more than half that amount to cover the retroactivity.District officials also are looking at about a 6-mill property tax increase next year to help replenish the budgetary reserve and to cover other expenditures for the remainder of the 2005-06 year.Lang said the board is attempting to increase starting salaries for teachers, but credited the prior contract concession teachers made as part of the reason why the starting salary currently is low.During the last contract negotiations, teachers agreed to freeze the starting salary for the entire length of the contract. Lang said it was a poor move to make but it was part of the concessions then.Because of that move, the district is now trying to play catch-up with salaries.Lang said a way for the teachers to take home more of their pay is to agree to participate in the IRS Code Section 125, which allows for certain expenses such as healthcare and child care, to be deducted pre-tax from their paychecks. By doing that, teachers could take home an average of 13 percent more of their pay.Robin Hope, a consultant with the district's healthcare provider, offered a detailed explanation of the healthcare services offered in the board's offer.Among the items Hope discussed included the difference between a PPO, a preferred provider organization, and a POS, a point of service plan. The former is the kind of plan the district is asking teachers to switch to, while the latter is one of two current options teachers have under their old contract.In addition to POS, teachers currently also can choose an indemnity insurance plan.That plan still will be available under the new contract, only with higher deductibles.Hope said the main difference between a PPO and POS plan is that a PPO plan is based on a regional and national coverage area and does not require a primary care physician be appointed, whereas a POS plan is based solely on a regional coverage area and requires a primary care physician be designated.Following the presentation, Lang said the board is willing to answer questions but asked they be submitted in writing."As I said, we welcome any questions . . . I assure you they will be answered at the next meeting," he said.Questions were able to be left with board members last night and also can be sent to the school administration office. The next board meeting is Oct. 6.Following the presentation, teachers' union representative Dawn Heilman had a brief comment."The board takes with one hand and it gives with the other," she said.Prior to Lang's presentation, several members of the 80-plus audience addressed the board.Liz Gordon, a parent of three children in the district, said she has many friends who are teachers, and although she respects and admires them, she thinks it is unfair for teachers to fight for "zero premiums on their healthcare in this day and age."Gordon said she would like teachers to reconsider the latest offer made by the district.Dave Hall, a teacher for 12 years in the district, said he had just started working in the district after the last teachers' strike."I felt there were good people in this community then and I still believe that," he said. "I put my heart and my soul into this job. It's my career."Hall said as an educator, he spends much more than seven hours and 20 minutes each day doing his job. Because of that, Hall said people should not compare teachers to jobs held in the private sector."We do not make tires or steel . . . we are teachers," he said. "It is impossible to put a dollar amount on our end product, which is your children."Curt Schnur, another teacher, said he questioned whether compromises were made by the school board between its first and most recent offers to teachers."So in other words, they've given us a room full of furniture, but they just keep moving it around," Schnur said. "The school board and the teachers' union have two different ideas of what fair and equitable is. We need a collective bargaining proposal . . . that's fair and equitable to both sides."Resident Steve Ambrose said the district needs teachers who want to teach no matter what the pay, recalling his time in a one-room schoolhouse with 50 other students as the best education he ever received."Now . . . I don't see this dedication," he said. "Negotiations are supposed to be give and take. Teachers have given up nothing."Ambrose said the most frustrating part of this for him is the increased taxes he's being asked to pay to help fund the higher salaries for teachers."In my lifetime, and this is a fact, I will pay more taxes on my house than what I paid for it," he said. "But among the things money won't buy is good teachers and good politicians."Sandra Jerich, a parent in the district, told board members she is discouraged to see none of the district's student teachers from last year had applied for openings in the district this year. Jerich said it wasn't a good sign and the district needed to provide more incentives for young, talented teachers to want to work there.The next negotiations session between the board and teachers' union is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.