Jan. 12, 2004 After reading the Kimball School Board minutes in last week’s Tri-County News, we felt compelled to respond to the reference Mr. Gillman made regarding the last proposal they presented to the teachers of Education-Minnesota Kimball. First of all, we do not agree with his statement that their latest offer was a total package increase of 4 percent over the two-year contract. In fact, their last offer was much closer to 3 percent, an offer that is far below the average settlements in the state, which are closer to 10 percent. Secondly, we find it difficult to understand how accepting such a settlement would be the cause of staff reductions beyond those already required due to declining enrollment. The truth is that if the teachers were to accept this latest board offer, most would see a fairly substantial decrease in their compensation due to rising insurance costs, with some losing more than $4,000 over the two-year period. This hardly seems fair when the administrators receive increases of over $2,400 in benefits in the first year alone. When comparing the total amount of money the school district spent last year on teacher salaries and benefits to the amount offered this year, there is a dramatic difference. The amount offered to teachers this year is about $350,000 less than the compensation received by teachers last year. The teachers of Education-Minnesota Kimball are looking forward to settling their contract and hope that a state appointed mediator will help in this process. We want a fair settlement, and we want a fair approach to the settlement process. We prefer to work towards the settlement of contract issues at the bargaining table and not in the local media; however, we felt it was prudent on our part to respond to the statements made in the board minutes. Howard Bahn
