| THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF NORFOLK, | | | CASE NO. 371 |
| in the COUNTY OF MADISON, in the | | | |
| STATE OF NEBRASKA, A Political | | | |
| Subdivision, | | | |
| | | ||
| Plaintiff, | | | |
| | | ||
| v. | | | OPINION AND ORDER |
| | | ||
| NORFOLK CITY EDUCATION | | | |
| ASSOCIATION, An Unincorporated | | | |
| Association, | | | |
| | | ||
| Defendant | | |
Appearances:
For the Plaintiff:Robert E. Otte
For the Defendant: Theodore L. Kessner
Before: Judges Gradwohl, Kratz and Berkheimer
GRADWOHL, J:
This matter came on for trial for a determination of wages and other conditions of employment pursuant to Section 48-818. At the pretrial conference, the parties agreed that there were four areas of dispute for the 1980-1981 school contract year:
1. Base salary.
2. Structure of index schedule - the Association sought an additional step on the BA-plus 9 and BA-plus 36 (MA) columns.
3. Rules of administration of the index schedule - the Association sought to eliminate the last paragraph of the 1979-1980 Salary Schedule concerning the noncontractual nature of the schedule and to change the requirements for advancing to the Masters Degree column.
4. Board paid contributions for insurance or annuity premiums.
The parties stipulated at trial that the only issues then remaining in dispute were base salary and employer contribution to the insurance and annuity fringe benefit package. The Commission has jurisdiction of the parties and of the subject matter.
1. Statute.
The controlling statute is Section 48-818, which states:
"The findings and order or orders may establish or alter the scale of wages, hours of labor, or conditions of employment, or any one or more of the same. In making such findings and order or orders, the Commission of Industrial Relations shall establish rates of pay and conditions of employment which are comparable to the prevalent wage rates and conditions of employment maintained for the same or similar work of workers exhibiting like or similar skills under the same or similar working conditions. In establishing wage rates the Commission shall take into consideration the overall compensation presently received by the employees, having regard not only to wages for time actually worked out also to wages for time not worked, including vacations, holidays, and other excused time, and all benefits received, including insurance and pensions, and the continuity and stability of employment enjoyed by the employees. Any order or orders entered may be notified on the Commission's own motion or on an application by any of the parties affected, but only upon a showing of a change in the conditions from those prevailing at the time the original order was entered."
2. Comparables.
The parties stipulated that teachers in the public schools of Fremont, Grand Island, Columbus, Scottsbluff, Kearney, North Platte, Beatrice, and South Sioux City exhibit like or similar skills under the same or similar working conditions and are otherwise within the comparability standards of Section 48-818. The Norfolk School District sought to include McCook Public School District in the array. The Norfolk City Education Association took no position as to the inclusion of McCook within the group of comparable employments.
Table 1 sets out some of the information about the school districts in the proposed array. From the evidence in this case, it is determined that a suitable array for the purposes of Section 48-818 consists of teachers in the following school districts: Beatrice, Columbus, Fremont, Grand Island, Kearney, North Platte, Scottsbluff, and South Sioux City. Based on total student enrollment (1629 students), rank in student enrollment (#25), miles distant from Norfolk (259 miles), the existence of a number of other comparable employments, and the general absence of a strong community of interest between the two school districts we find that McCook should not be included in the comparison array.
3. Determination as to "Overall Compensation."
Section 48-818 states that "In establishing wage rates the Commission shall take into consideration the overall compensation presently received by the employees, having regard not only to wages for time actually worked but also to wages for time not
worked, including vacations, holidays, and other excused time, and all benefits received, including insurance and pensions, and the continuity and stability of employment enjoyed by the employees." This rule of overall compensation does not require an identity of benefits, but that the overall compensation be "comparable to the prevalent wage rates paid and conditions of employment for the same or similar work of workers exhibiting like or similar skills under the same or similar working conditions." These determinations must be made on the basis of the evidence introduced by the parties in the trial of the case. The determinations under Section 48-818, R. R. S. 1943, may, therefore, vary from case to case depending upon the evidence introduced by the parties.
The two items for determination by the Commission, upon which the parties have not agreed previously, are base salary and employer contribution to the insurance and annuity fringe benefit package. The evidence establishes the following salary and fringe benefit comparisons as compiled in Table 2.
Applying the statutory criteria of Section 48-818 to the evidence in this case, we find that effective at the beginning of the 1980-1981 school contract year, the base salary amount for Norfolk teachers should be $10,825.00 and that the employer contribution to the insurance and annuity fringe benefit package should be $65.00 per month. This is a standard salary schedule of $2,867,867.25 (base salary amount, $10,825.00, times staff index factor, 264.93), fringe benefits of $150,150.00 ($65.00 per month for 12 months for 192.5 teaching positions) and an overall
compensation of $3,018,017.25.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that:
1. The base salary amount for Norfolk teachers shall be $10,825.00, effective at the beginning of the 1980-1981 school year.
2. The District shall pay $65.00 per month for the insurance and annuity fringe benefit package for all teachers, effective at the beginning of the 1980-1981 school year.
This Order shall be effective for wages and conditions of employment with respect to the 1980-1981 school year.
All Judges assigned to the panel in this case join in the entry of this Opinion and Order.
Entered September 9, 1980
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