Negotiators for teachers in the Lawrence school district are moving closer to compiling their proposed total compensation package for the coming school year.

Having already asked for a $1,500 salary increase for all 926 licensed educators, Lawrence Education Association negotiators on Wednesday formally added a request to boost “extra-duty” pay. Such pay — for supervising dances, selling event tickets and other student-related activities — would rise to $20 an hour, up 60 percent from the current $12.50 an hour.

Next up: asking district negotiators to consider boosting the district’s health insurance contributions to $500 per employee, which would be up 40 percent from the current $358.

A report Wednesday from the district’s Fringe Benefits Committee indicated that overall insurance costs could be expected to decline next year before rising again a year later.

After the meeting, union negotiators said they planned to continue their push for improved compensation.

“We’re not hearing anything that would change our minds about direction,” said David Reber, the association’s lead negotiator.

Negotiators on both sides met for two hours Wednesday at district headquarters, continuing work toward a new master agreement for the 2011-12 school year. The annual agreement governs pay, benefits and working conditions for the district’s licensed educators.

The union hasn’t yet formally requested an increase in the district’s insurance contributions, but Reber indicated after Wednesday’s session that the union would seek an increase to $500. That’s what other districts in the Kansas City area contribute for their teachers, he said.

Frank Harwood, the district’s chief negotiator, said that the district’s response to the union’s requests would be forwarded in the coming weeks.

“We have to look at all of the things that would have an increased cost and see how they all go together, and look at that within the scope of the dollars available,” said Harwood, who is the district’s chief operations officer.

Administrators already have forwarded a budget plan to the Lawrence school board that would cut $3 million in expenses for the coming year to cover an expected decrease in money provided by the state. The board already has agreed to close Wakarusa Valley School, while other cuts have yet to be approved.

Union negotiators counter that the district has $6.8 million in contingency funds that could be used to boost salaries, plus $7.3 million in a special reserve fund that could be used to help improve insurance coverage for employees.

Negotiators plan to meet again at 5 p.m. May 4 at district headquarters, 110 McDonald Drive.