In brief: Contract in place for CdA teachers

Coeur d’Alene teachers voted in favor of a new contract Monday, and the school board voted 5-0 to ratify the agreement.

The Coeur d’Alene Education Association consented to reductions in health care coverage to help the school district plug a $1.5 million budget shortfall for the coming school year.

Employees’ co-insurance cost will double, to 20 percent, as will their deductible rates, to $400 per person and $800 per family.

The district also will pay less for family health coverage: 68 percent instead of 71 percent.

Teachers now may opt out of district insurance if they are covered by another plan.

Both sides crafted a spending plan that restores some of the cuts if the district’s projected carryover balance this fall is higher than projected.

River release permits topic of EPA forum

Draft permits that would reduce the amount of phosphorus that sewage treatment plants in Idaho can discharge into the Spokane River are the subject of a Wednesday workshop and public hearing.

Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will discuss the draft permits at a 2-4 p.m. workshop at the Coeur d’Alene Public Library, 702 E. Front Ave. Public comment will be accepted during the hearing, which runs from 5 to 7:30 p.m. Written comments will be accepted by the EPA through Sept. 3.

The proposed permits affect treatment plants operated by the Hayden Area Regional Sewer Board and the cities of Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls.