DANA POINT : Teachers Protest Stalled Negotiations

About 60 teachers picketed in front of Dana Hills High School on Monday to protest stalled contract negotiations with the Capistrano Unified School District.

The teachers protested for almost an hour in front of the school before ending the demonstration in time to begin 8 a.m. classes. The school district and the teachers union are at an impasse concerning salaries and health care benefits.

The teachers, who have worked without a contract since last July, are seeking an 8.5% pay increase, said Ric Stephenson, president of the Capistrano Unified Educators Assn. The district has offered a 6% increase, he said.

The union also objects to district proposals for cuts in health care benefits, Stephenson said.

The two sides are scheduled for a mediation hearing Feb. 13 and 14.

Meanwhile, a mediator helped the district’s classified employee union reach a contract agreement with the administration last week.

The classified union, which includes secretaries, bus drivers and maintenance workers, will receive a 7.5% cost-of-living raise retroactive to the expiration of its contract in July.

Stephenson said he hopes that mediation will help. “We would love for that to happen,” he said.