MOORPARK : Talks Stall Between Teachers, District

Contract negotiations between the Moorpark Unified School District and its teachers union have broken down, primarily because of a dispute over how much money the deficit-plagued district can offer its educators in raises.

An impasse was declared by the Moorpark Educators Assn. about 4 p.m. Tuesday after an all-day bargaining session at the district offices on Flory Street, the third such meeting since negotiations began in January.

“I was rather indignant,” union President Guy Aronoff said Wednesday. “I just felt like we give them the best, we get the compliments all the time, but when it comes down to getting the things we’re looking for, they can’t do it.” The district’s final offer Tuesday would have given teachers a one-time bonus of 5% of salary for the second half of the present school year, instead of the 5% raise educators had sought for the entire year.

School board member Tom Baldwin said the district’s offer would have cost $400,000--adding to a deficit that already exceeds $1 million this year.

Another item of contention is whether the district can afford to grant salary increases that would become a permanent part of the formulas used to determine how much teachers are paid. The district has been reluctant to lock itself into raises that would carry over to next year because of the uncertainty of state funding.

“They’re basically saying we’re a rich district, we’re a growing district and we can afford it,” Baldwin said. “But we still have a budget deficit that’s going to be more than $1 million without giving them anything.”

The teachers’ contract expires June 30, but it calls for a renegotiation of salary levels for 1992-93.