Teacher Pact Mediation Due

I Charging that the Ann Arbor I Board of Education is "playing I games," the Ann Arbor Education Association (AAEA) last night revealed it has requested I state mediation in an attempt to resolve the deadlock over several issues in negotiations for a 1970-71 teachers' contract. AAEA President Albert Chaffee said the AAEA was requesting mediation in an attempt to avoid a "major educational crisis in this community." The mediator, Richard Terepin, will be in Ann Arbor at 9 a.m. Monday. No settlement has yet been reached on the issues of salaries, fringe benefits, pupil-teacher ratio, work year, extra pay for extra duties, sabbatical lea ves and several other items. The board and AAEA are presently about $3,700,000 apart on salary proposals, according to the AAEA's chief negotiator, Herman Healy. Chaffee's accusation that the board was "playing games" brought a swift and angry retort from Trustee Richard M Wood: "This board is struggling with a very tight budget. We're not playing games at all. It is a deadly serious economie battle. If the AAEA wishes to engage in verbal attacks, I find this very discouraging." J.he request for media tion was not a joint request. School Supt. W. Scott Westerman Jr. said the board negotiators are "not now of the opinión that mediation is a necessity." But he said mediation is a "useful process" and that the board will cooperate in trying to resolve the problems. The state mediator will be provided by the Michigan Employment Kelations Commission. His suggestions are not binding. If mediation is unsuccessful in bringing about a settlement, the parties may either return to negotiation or request fact-finding. Chaffee said the AAEA feels the board negotiators have an "attitude of gamesmanship" because the board has not sented a salary proposal since its first one on May 20. At that time, the board offered salary increases ranging from 3.1" per cent to 5.7 per cent. The total salary package increase proposed was $539,500. The proposals were: BA minimum, $7,400; BA maximum, $12,200; MA minimum, $8,000, and MA maximum, $13,800. (During the 1969-70 school year, A n n Arbor teachers received a BA minimum of $7,000; BA maximum of $11,835; MA minimum of $7,630, and MA maximum of $13,200). Since negotiations b e g a n April 1, the AAEA says it has made two proposals- the first for a salary and fringe benefit package of $18 million, the second costing about $17 million. (During 1969-70, the package cost the school board $12,760,770). The AAEA's first proposal was: BA minimum, $9,600; BA maximum, $16,320; MA minimum, $10,464; MA maximum, $17,996. The figures for the second, lower proposal are not available for publication. The present teachers' contract expires Aug. 15. Two years ago, a state mediator was called in on a joint request and helped bring about a settlement after two days plus an all-night bargaining session.