CSD, Teachers Agree On Contract

Coeur d’Alene teachers voted overwhelmingly 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/ Scott Maben , SR.

Question: Could the previous school board have pulled off this settlement?