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Brodhead teachers to help pay benefits

BRODHEAD — Teachers in Brodhead will begin paying half of their retirement and 12.6 percent of their health insurance premiums starting July 1 after the union and district approved a contract extension this week.

The deal extends for one year the contract that expires June 30.

"Essentially, the two teams agreed to implement all the things in Gov. (Scott) Walker's budget repair bill, and get one year," Superintendent Chuck Deery said. "The whole philosophy behind that was to buy us all some time to let things sort out and see where bargaining is going to be a year from now."

Salary increases will be tied to the consumer price index, and step movement increases will be frozen.

Both sides met for the first time Monday night in a regularly scheduled meeting. By Tuesday afternoon, teachers had ratified the agreement. The board did the same at a regular meeting Wednesday night, he said.

"It's the best deal for both parties under the conditions we're in right now," Deery said.

The Brodhead Education Association represents 80 teachers.

The district was planning for a $125,000 deficit next year because of declining enrollment, but that number jumped to $935,000 under Walker's proposed budget, Deery said.

The board could generate about $500,000 in savings if the same benefit contributions the teachers will be making are applied to the district's administration and support staff, he said.

That leaves the board to find cuts for the remaining $435,000.

The board is beginning that discussion, Deery said, and layoffs are likely. How many there will be and where they will come from remains unknown, he said.

A special board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday to "have some in-depth discussion about the budget," he said. The board will hold its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, March 28.