Ventura Teachers Facing Benefits Cut : Education: The proposed three-year contract eliminates lifetime medical payments for new retirees starting next year.

By CARLOS V. LOZANO

March 13, 1993 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Ventura teachers facing retirement next year are being asked to forgo lifetime medical benefits, which are threatening to bankrupt the district, in favor of special buyout packages being offered under a new contract.

Teachers already receiving lifetime health benefits and those who plan to retire this year would not be affected under terms outlined in the tentative three-year contract, officials said.

But after June 30, retirees would receive $1,500 for each year of service, plus one additional $1,500 payment, up to a maximum of 30 years. The money would be paid in five annual installments.

“While it doesn’t satisfy every concern of ours by a long shot, given the financial position of the district and the state, it really represents the best we could do right now,” John Gennaro, president of the Ventura Unified Education Assn., said of the proposed contract.

As extra compensation for ending the lifetime medical benefits, Gennaro said the proposed contract calls for retirees to receive a cash settlement of $171 for each year served, plus one additional $171 payment, up to a maximum of 40 years.

Union representatives met with the district’s 600 teachers this week to discuss the terms of the new contract and to get their feedback, he said.

“The ones I spoke to seem to understand that these are very difficult times,” Gennaro said. “I think they were relieved that health benefits for active employees were untouched.”

Several teachers said Friday that they have little choice but to accept the contract, which offers a slight pay hike only in the unlikely event that the state increases education funding in 1993-94.

“I think it’s the fairest thing they can do under the circumstances,” said Mound elementary school teacher Susan Frank, who has taught in the district for 25 years but is not yet eligible for retirement benefits.

“We’re in a real tough situation,” she said. “None of us could foresee that there was going to be this kind of money crunch.”

Buena High School teacher Robert Pease agreed. Pease, who has been employed by the district for 30 years, is 60 years old but said he has no plans to retire.

“I think the district is up against the wall,” he said. “The benefits package will bankrupt the district. That’s pretty clear.”

Gennaro said he plans to meet Monday with the 200 teachers who are eligible for retirement to go over details of the proposed contract agreement. Teachers must be 55 or older to receive retirement benefits.

Gennaro, a 55-year-old physical education teacher at Balboa Middle School, said he has no intention of taking early retirement because it would mean losing some of his pension money. He has been with the district 27 years.

“There are severe penalties” for those who take early retirement, he said.

District officials declined Friday to comment on the proposed contract.

But they have long maintained that if the district were to continue supporting the present benefits package, it would be broke in two to three years.

The district is the only one in the county that provides lifetime medical benefits to its employees. After salaries, health-care costs represent the single biggest expense of school districts.

Last year, the Ventura district spent $15 million on health and welfare benefits, with more than $3 million going to retirees, officials said.

The district has been providing lifetime medical benefits to employees since 1975. The benefits program began with 47 retirees at an annual cost of $13,300. The district now has more than 700 retirees, about half of whom are teachers.

The union representing secretaries, maintenance crews and other staff members is in the process of negotiating a new contract with the district. That pact is also expected to either reduce benefits for new retirees or eliminate them altogether.