BY CRAIG SHULTZ
The Hemet school district and its teachers union remain far apart in contract negotiations. After a fourth mediation session Wednesday failed to bring an agreement, the process now moves to the fact-finding stage, the last step in the dispute resolution process under state law. Under fact-finding, a threeperson panel reviews the disputed issues and offers recommendations on a proposed settlement, which are passed on to the district’s governing board. The panel is comprised of one representative selected by the district and one selected by the Hemet Teachers Association. Those two then select a neutral chair. The process is expected to take several months, and if there is still no agreement, the district can impose its offer on the teachers. “The fact-finding process will allow teachers to present to the community and an independent arbitrator what our spending priorities should be,” association officials said in a statement. “The misguided spending priorities of the district take more and more taxpayer dollars away from the classroom and those who have direct contact with students in order to place those dollars into district programs that offer only a tangential benefit to kids.” The district is offering a 4 percent salary increase retroactive to July 1, 2013, and a $1,500 increase to the cost of health benefits. The district claims with the bump in benefits, the salary increase is closer to 6 percent, making the increase comparable to what neighboring districts are offering their educators. Teachers have said that is not enough. They are also fighting for smaller class sizes. Hemet teachers have been working without a new contract since 2012. Terms have been rolled over the past two years as the sides have haggled. Many Hemet teachers, who say they are among the lowest paid in the county, have only been working to what their contract requires, eschewing extra work such as lunchtime tutoring and overseeing clubs. Teachers and parents have been picketing outside some campuses each morning. CONTACT THE WRITER: 951-368-9086 or [email protected]