Long-discussed furlough days hammered out at Tuesday bargaining session

It turns out at least one person thought negotiators representing Culver City Unified School District administrators and the Culver City Federation of Teachers were playing nice.

“The mediator commented it was one of the nicest experiences that she’s had,” said CCUSD Assistant Superintendent Patricia Jaffe on Tuesday, May 25, hours after the two sides tentatively agreed to a package of furlough days for CCUSD employees. “She did see that we worked really well together, listened to each other and respected other viewpoints.”

The idea of furlough days first bubbled to the surface earlier this year as CCUSD looked for ways to tighten its purse strings in the wake of a budget shortfall expected to come in at between $2 million and $4 million. The -initial proposal was for all three CCUSD employee groups — administrators, teachers and classified staff — to take five unpaid furlough days, a move the district estimated would save approximately $1 million.

The teachers union balked at that offer, asking that administrators — many of whom work more days than instructional staff — take eight furlough days, while also seeking a handful of additional concessions. The conflicting stances led the two sides to declare negotiations at an impasse following a bargaining session March 22.

However, negotiations did continue for the next two months, and at Tuesday’s meeting the two sides finally hammered out an agreement. Upper-level administrators will take six furlough days, while other administrative staff and teachers will take five.

The agreement also calls for more prep time for elementary school teachers, and an analysis of a possible early retirement incentive for district employees.

“It’s good to have it done,” said CCFT President David Mielke. “The reality is we could have had this settled six months ago. The only reason it took six months is that they weren’t going to take more. district administrators are going to take six (days), and they weren’t going to go any further.”

The agreement, which is expected to be brought before the full CCFT voting body Thursday, June 3 does not cover the Association of Classified Employees, which still must reach its own deal with CCUSD.

Jaffe claimed there will be no issues with CCUSD ultimately signing off on the tentative deal.

“We won’t have any formal vote,” Jaffe said. “They (CCUSD administrators) already knew. We were ready months ago.”

Mielke is likewise -confident the teachers union will agree to the plan, but offered that developments later Tuesday evening during the CCUSD Board of Education meeting — during which renewed contracts were approved for administrators, including mileage allowances that drew the ire of some in the audience — could make the ratification process more difficult.

“I think the fact that they approved those mileage allowances makes things a little bit … it makes me a little less certain of that,” Mielke said.