| DISTRICT O.R. NO. 1 EDUCATION | | | CASE NO. 503 |
| ASSOCIATION, | | | |
| | | ||
| Petitioner, | | | |
| | | ||
| v. | | | OPINION AND ORDER |
| | | ||
| THE SCHOOL DISTRICT OF | | | |
| PALMYRA, IN THE COUNTY OF | | | |
| OTOE, IN THE STATE OF | | | |
| NEBRASKA, A Political | | | |
| Subdivision, | | | |
| | | ||
| Respondent. | | |
Appearances:
For the Petitioner: Mr. Mark D. McGuire
Crosby, Guenzel, Davis,
Kessner & Kuester
400 Lincoln Benefit Building
Lincoln, Nebraska
For the Respondent: Mr. L. Bruce Wright
Cline, Williams, Wright,
Johnson & Oldfather
1900 First National Bank Building
Lincoln, Nebraska
Before: Judges Davis, Orr and Berkheimer.
DAVIS, J:
The District O.R. No. 1 Education Association (Association) requests the Commission of Industrial Relations to determine wages and conditions of employment for the Palmyra School District teachers for the 1982-83 school contract year. The Respondent, School District of Palmyra (District), is a Class III school district employing 36 teachers and has a student enrollment of 388 students.
The parties stipulated at the pretrial conference held in this matter that "[e]xcept for base salary, and salary schedule index percentage, the terms and conditions of employment for the teachers employed by the School District for the 1982--83 contract year shall be as previously established by the agreements made by the parties." 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 paid 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 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. Any order or orders entered may be modified on the commission's own motion or on 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. Comparable School Districts.
The Association and the District both presented comparisons with the following six school districts: Humboldt, Louisville, Pawnee City, Stella Southeast, Tecumseh, and Weeping Water. The District also presented comparisons with the school districts of Adams, Conestoga, Elmwood, Sterling, and Nemaha Valley. The Association in addition presented comparisons with the school districts of Malcolm, Milford, Syracuse, Tri-County, Wilber-Clatonia, and Wymore. The parties stipulated at the pretrial conference that the "work skills and working conditions of the teachers employed by the [Palmyra] School District and the teachers employed in all of the compared to districts offered by the Association and District are like or similar."
The evidence in this case as to the compared to school districts, in addition to the stipulation as to work skills and working conditions, consists of student enrollment (rank and number), number of teachers, student-teacher ratio, school district class, county, number of miles from Palmyra, athletic conference, and athletic and non-athletic contacts with Palmyra. Table 1 sets out most of the above information about the school districts in the proposed arrays.
In selecting employments for the purpose of comparison in arriving at comparable and prevalent wage rates and conditions of employment, the question is whether, as a matter of fact, the employments selected for comparison are sufficiently similar and have enough like characteristics or qualities to make comparison appropriate in that situation. Fraternal Order of Police v. County of Adams , 205 Neb. 682, 685, 289 N.W.2d 535, 537 (1980); Omaha Assn. of Firefighters v. City of Omaha , 194 Neb. 436, 441 231 N.W.2d 710, 713 (1975); Crete Education Assn. v. School Dist. of Crete, 193 Neb. 245, 255 226 N.W.2d 752, 758 (1975).
In selecting an array of school districts for the purpose of comparison in arriving at comparable and prevalent wage rates and conditions of employment, the Commission has considered, among other factors, the following: student enrollment, geographic proximity, athletic conference membership, and community of interest demonstrated by athletic, scholastic and administrative contacts. In considering the evidence as to these factors, the Commission determines that a suitable array for the purposes of Section 48-818 should consist of the following school districts: Humboldt, Louisville, Pawnee City, Stella Southeast, Tecumseh, and Weeping Water. These six school districts were presented by both parties as employing teachers having like or similar work skills and working conditions when compared to Palmyra. They have a similarity in student enrollment and in geographic proximity as well as being members of the same athletic conference.
We decline to include the non-conference schools for the reason that the evidence shows that their community of interest with Palmyra, demonstrated by athletic as well as non-athletic contacts, is not as significant as the community of interest demonstrated by the conference schools selected for comparison by the Commission. Conestoga, the largest conference member, is not used since its 1982-83 contract is not settled.
3. Salary Schedule - Index Factors.
The District argues for a change in one of the index factors of its salary schedule. The requested change is a decrease in the horizontal percentage factor from 4.5% to 4%. According to the District's Superintendent the salary schedule was an issue brought up by the District at one of the negotiating sessions, however, the parties did not bring it up again in negotiations. (117:12-23, 118:8-11)
Table 2 following compares the salary schedule index factors of the schools in the array and at Palmyra.
With respect to the District's argument for a 4 x 4 schedule, Table 2 shows a vertical longevity factor of 4% at five of the six schools. Horizontally, five of the six have an index factor of 4% or less. Only one school in the array has the same index factors as Palmyra.
The Commission has been reluctant to change an established salary schedule because of the varying effects of different schedules upon teachers within the bargaining unit. See WestHolt Faculty Association v. School District 25 of Holt County , 5 CIR 301, 308-309 (1981). However, the Commission will change an established salary schedule for teachers' salary where it varies substantially from prevalent schedules as the Commission finds in this case. The Commission finds that the present index factors of 4 x 4.5 should be changed to 4 x 4 in order to reflect the prevalent practice among the schools selected.
4. Base Salary
The other remaining issue for the Commission's determinatin is the base salary amount for Palmyra's teachers. The Association has adjusted the total salary figures for those compared to school districts in order to reflect the longer contract year of 185 days at Palmyra.
The following Table 3 shows the number of contract days of the schools in the array and at Palmyra.
The Commission has declined to adjust annual teacher compensation based on differences in contract lengths in Beatrice Education Association v. School District , 3 CIR 323, 329-331 (1978), Columbus Education Association v. School District , 3 CIR 385, 391-392 (1978), Millard Education Association v. School District , 5 CIR 425, 438-439 (1981), and in Broken Bow Education Association v. School District , 6 CIR 60, 73-74 (1982), but did make adjustments in West Holt Faculty Association v. School District 25 of Holt County , 5 CIR 301, 313-314 (1981), Bellwood Faculty Association v. School District Number 3R , 6 CIR 395 (1983), and Dorchester Education Association v. School District , 6 CIR 408 (1983). Similarly, the Commission has made adjustments based on differences in work week hours in Fraternal Order of Police Local No. 12 v. County of Adams , 3 CIR 585, 590 (1978), affirmed , 205 Neb. 682, 289 N.W.2d 535 (1980).
The Commission distinguished the Columbus case and West Holt case on the facts presented, as stated in West Holt (5 CIR at 313-314):
"In the Columbus case, the Commission said: 'The teachers enter into a contract for a school term, without particular regard to the number of days involved in that term.' 3 CIR 385 at 391. The undisputed evidence in this case [ West Holt ] requires a departure from that finding. Here, the Association's expert witness testified that teaching employees should expect additional compensation if additional contract days are required and testified as to methods of adjustment generally based on a daily measurement.
"...The evidence shows that the number of contract days were unilaterally established by the Board to accommodate farm families, but as noted above the evidence also shows that teachers' salary expectations are related to the number of contract days. The Commission finds on the evidence in this case that an adjustment in basic salary should be made for a lesser number of contract days..."
The evidence shows that Palmyra has a greater number of contract days than Humboldt (182), and Pawnee City (182). The Superintendent testified that even though the teachers work only 183 calendar days, the teachers are paid for 185 days since on two days in the year the teachers are given a full day's compensation when they conduct parent conferences from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. (126:7-22) The Superintendent testified that if a teacher missed one day of work, he or she would have their salary reduced by 1/185th of their total salary. (114:6-22) The Association's expert witness testified that teachers' salary expectations are related to the number of contract days. (18:18-22, 20:20-25)
The Commission finds that an adjustment in the standard salary figures is necessary to reflect the longer contract period at Palmyra. The overall compensation figures and adjustments to a 185 contract day period are shown in Table 4.
Section 48-818, R.R.S. 1943, 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 maintained for 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.
Applying the statutory criteria of Section 48-818 to the evidence in the case, we find that effective at the beginning of the 1982-83 school contract year the base salary amount for Palmyra teachers shall be $11,970.00. This represents a standard salary schedule of $562,649.85 (base salary amount $11,970.00 multiplied by a staff index factor of 47.005), plus fringe benefits of $40,713.60 [1] which makes the total teacher compensation for the purpose of these calculations: $603,363.45.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED:
1. That the base salary amount for Palmyra School District's teachers shall be $11,970.00, effective at the beginning of the 1982-83 school contract year.
2. That the horizontal index factor on the salary schedule for Palmyra School District's teachers shall be 4 percent, effective at the beginning of the 1982-83 school contract year.
3. This Order shall be effective for wages and conditions of employment with respect to the 1982-83 school contract year. The adjustments resulting from this Order shall be made ratably over the twelve months of the contract pay period. The amount due for that portion of the contract pay period already elapsed shall be paid in a single sum with the payroll check issued next following the final order herein or as soon as is reasonably possible thereafter.
All Judges assigned to the panel in this case join in the entry of this Opinion and Order.
Filed April 1, 1983
[1] Respondent's Exhibits 3 and 4. Association Exhibit 3 has the fringe benefit figure as $40,600.94. The difference is accounted for by the long term disability insurance cost, which is not prorated for part-time teachers. (77:11-20)
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