Teacher Contracts Extended thru 6/12

On Friday afternoon (3/11) 6 of 7 school board members were able to meet during a special meeting to discuss extending the contract with the MGEA until June 30, 2012. The meeting was not just to extend the current expiring deal, but rather to agree to changes for the 1 year extension only. Below are the some of the provisions that changed (as copied from Peter's blog, because I am too lazy to retype them):

1) Teachers will contribute 1/2 the WRS pension contributions from their salary. This is the same requirement as the "Budget repair bill".

2) Teachers will pay 12.6% of their health insurance costs. This is the same requirement as the "Budget repair bill".

3) Only teachers currently eligible for retirement within the next 5 years will retain the current retirement benefits. No provisions for retirement benefits for teachers retiring beyond the next 5 years are provided in the contract, these will be up to the board to provide in policy.

4) There will be a 0% increase to the salary schedule, although step and lane increases will occur.

5) The district calendar will be determined by the board and is no longer a subject of bargaining, teacher transfers also become a management prerogative.

The contract was extended on a 5 - 1 vote. I was the lone dissenting vote. The main reason that I voted against the measure was that I felt it was moved on too fast.

From the teacher perspective I am guessing that having the peace of mind on a contract for an additional year was worth the changes to their existing contract. From the district perspective, the gains made in providing relief to the budget are great.

As I stated when we voted on the extension, this is a good deal for the district, but I think it is a deal that we could have given to the MGEA after the budget repair bill becomes law. Is it better to reach a deal together vs. mandating one, which is what we could have done when the law changes? Without question it is!

I don't like making decisions and limiting flexibility for next year when we don't yet know what the rules of the game are. However, for better or worse the regulations as it relates to employee relations for the district will change in the very near future. It is this uncertaintity that gave me pause and concern that we were rushing into a deal.