Contract tensions, lay-offs and a recall effort targeting four school board members have dominated the landscape at one Detroit-area school district the past several months.

The previous contract between the Lakeview Education Association and Lakeview Public Schools, in St. Clair Shores, expired Aug. 31, 2004. Since then, more than a dozen bargaining sessions have been held, a fact finder from the Michigan Employment Relations Commission has filed a report and the school board declared an impasse, prompting a lawsuit against the district.

After declaring an impasse in negotiations, the district implemented a contract proposal for teachers that included a 3.5 percent pay increase over two years, and a new health insurance plan for employees. The Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO is the plan that was recommended by a fact finder in May 2005 who had been assigned to the case by the Michigan Employment Relations Commission. Fact finding, according to the Michigan Association of School Boards, takes place only after mediation fails to settle bargaining disputes. Either party may petition MERC to appoint a fact finder, and during the hearing both sides present exhibits and witnesses.

The switch to the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Community Blue Option 1 program meant that Lakeview’s teacher health insurance would no longer be purchased from the Michigan Education Special Services Association, a third-party administrator affiliated with the Michigan Education Association.

After the Aug. 10, 2005 vote by the Lakeview Board of Education to implement the teacher pay raise and healthcare provider change, Superintendent Sandra Feeley-Myrand posted a press release on the district’s Web site, outlining the district’s reasoning.

"Over the past year, the sticking point in negotiations both at Lakeview and around the state has been MESSA insurance," Feeley-Myrand said in the press release.

The release also indicated that MESSA "has come under increased scrutiny by the Michigan Supreme Court and other nonprofit organizations," for what Feeley-Myrand called "the large scale transfer of funds back to the union on an annual basis."

Lakeview said its decision to switch insurance administrators could reduce costs by $500,000 annually, and that the plan was endorsed by the state’s fact finder. The union proposed that all teachers be covered by the MESSA Choices II plan, which would have carried various costs for employees.

"In this time of tight budgets, when we can provide raises and the absolute best PPO insurance from Blue Cross/Blue Shield at no cost to the employees, the Board is demonstrating that they value the teachers and staff," Feeley-Myrand’s statement said.

Jane Cassady, president of the local union affiliate and a social worker for Lakeview Public Schools, disagrees.

"Because both sides were not at an impasse, we believe the imposition was illegal," Cassady said in a written response to questions submitted to her by Michigan Education Report. "An imposition does not mean an agreement, so hopefully a fully bargained agreement is what’s next. We would rather negotiate than litigate."

The union did file a lawsuit in late 2005, asking for an injunction against the new proposal. In December, Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Deborah Servitto denied the request, saying the union’s claims that the new plan would cause "irreparable harm" were "speculative at best." Servitto also noted that while the changes to insurance were imposed, other changes also were imposed, "some of which were to the Plaintiff’s advantage, and all changes were generally consistent with the fact finder’s recommendation."

Several other factors were involved in the board’s decision, beyond changing insurance plans. The 3.5 percent pay raise over two years for teachers was in line with the fact finder’s recommendation, but not as high as the union’s request for a retroactive 2 percent raise for 2004-2005 and 3 percent each of the next two years. The board did approve the union’s request to increase weekly preparation time for elementary school teachers to 200 minutes, increase the unused sick day payout for retirees and increase longevity pay.

Cassady points out, however, that because the first 1 percent of the pay raise was not retroactive, it was not in effect very long, and the other 2.5 percent for this school year is split between semesters, so it adds up to fewer dollars than a full year’s pay raise.

As the disagreements over bargaining difficulties continued, a recall effort appeared. Four board members – Phil Thomas, Cathy Culhane, Don Wheaton and Dan Dombrowski – were targeted because of a May 2005 vote that privatized custodial services in the district. Recall petition language was rejected twice by the Macomb County Election Commission before being approved last August.

Wheaton, a 1982 Lakeview graduate who first won a seat on the school board in 1991, says it’s frustrating.

"I try to do what is best for the kids, and when I do, they want to take me out of office," he said. "Our job is to deliver the best possible education to the kids in the most cost-effective way. Paying more for janitorial services doesn’t accomplish that."

Wheaton said over the past several years, the board has attempted to keep budget cuts away from the classroom as much as possible.

"We’ve had numerous public meetings over the last few years to explain our financial situation to parents," he said. "We had 200 people show up on a Saturday and they told us not to close any buildings."

Wheaton said that led the board to open the district to Schools of Choice, a decision that brings in 400 students and nearly $3 million a year from state foundation grants.

"Schools of Choice kids make up 14 percent of our budget," he said. "We must be doing something right."

Cassady said that while the union has taken no formal position on the recall effort, current and retired teachers are involved as individuals.

The decision to privatize janitorial services meant the district had to permanently layoff the 20 custodians on staff. The maintenance and operations budget for 2002-2003 was $3.2 million, according to Wheaton. That line item is $2.2 million this year.

"Our contract is locked in for next year at this year’s price, and the next three years it will only go up by the rate of inflation," Wheaton said. "If we had kept our janitors on staff, we’d be bargaining for salary, worker’s comp and retirement, plus having to buy new equipment."

The Michigan Employment Relations Commission is now considering unfair labor practice charges the union filed last year against the district.