July 6 Negotiations Report

Greetings Teachers! With the 4^th of July holiday behind us, your LNEA team met with the board’s negotiating team at 9 a.m. on Monday, July 6. The meeting was short, as the board offered very few changes from the proposals they’ve presented in the past. We are extremely disappointed to see no discussion of any kind of fiscal increase for teachers, even though we are expected to implement new programs, learn new software programs, implement new textbook adoptions, reduce our classroom supplies and resources, and absorb the student load of the 30 staff that were cut last spring. While a certain percentage of the cuts came about because of the combination of elementary and middle school attendance centers, we all know that we still will face appreciably larger student loads in most cases.

For specific information regarding initial proposals and counter-proposals for the items that were opened for negotiations, check the June 22 summary. There have been a few minor changes by the board since then, but nothing appreciable.

Our session on July 6 lasted a total of 90 minutes. The board’s team opened the talks by presenting a package that was painfully similar to the last package they presented to us, then apparently expected LNEA to make more concessions. Rather than presenting a counter-proposal, we asked some pointed questions about certain issues, and then set another date. We will meet again at 9am on Thursday, July 23. This meeting will be held in the library at Lawson Elementary.

The board has still made no movement on most major issues:

** no increase on the salary schedule

** no increase in the embedded cash remuneration (currently $1350)

** no increase in the health benefit

** no vertical movement on the salary schedule for the 09-10 school year

** no lateral movement on the salary schedule for the 09-10 school year

** major reductions in the benefits provided in the early retirement program, with a date of 2015 to do away with the program all together

The board’s current proposal includes an increase in elementary planning time to 280 minutes per week, but they will not entertain the idea of increasing the minimum blocks of time from 20 minutes. Further, they have held this benefit for elementary teachers hostage by linking it to a demand that high school teachers increase their student load by 20%. Just for your information, minimum high school planning time stands at 215 minutes per week, and middle school teachers are guaranteed only 200 minutes per week.

We especially fear that a teacher who has borrowed money to complete a master’s degree will be facing repayment of loans, an increase in health insurance premiums, increased property taxes in return for supporting the bond issue, with no increase in income anywhere in sight. In the face of these dire circumstances, we encouraged the board’s team to get creative in looking for ways to provide at least a little financial relief for teachers – especially for those who in good faith have invested money in additional credit hours or an advanced degree, expecting lateral movement on the pay scale in return.

Of the districts that have settled on terms of a negotiated agreement for the 09-10 school year, we know of only one that has agreed to a pay freeze. Many districts have been unable to add any money to their base salary, but several of those have agreed to vertical and lateral movement on the salary schedule, or lateral movement only. Of those districts, however, the vast majority has not eliminated any teaching positions. A few have actually added teachers. Many districts have yet to settle, but some of those have chosen to cut high-dollar administrative positions rather than teaching positions.

We also questioned, in the face of cutting 30 teaching positions district wide, why the district would currently be advertising to fill the following positions:

** Title I ARRA Reading Coach

** Title I ARRA Mathematics Coach

** Coordinator of Secondary Literacy

** Coordinator of Elementary Literacy

** At-Risk Reading Interventionist

** At-Risk Mathematics Interventionist

(Please also be aware that the district already employs an assistant superintendent in charge of curriculum, a director of elementary curriculum, and has recently hired a director of secondary curriculum.)

The terms “interventionist” and “coach” imply that these people will be working with students, but upon reading the job descriptions that have been presented to the board for approval, we find that qualification requirements are lax, and the duties described for each of these positions are largely if not completely administrative.

While central office administration’s comment was that these positions involve stimulus money, and “it is mandated,” we never got a clear answer regarding exactly what the details of the mandate are. We know that at least one neighboring district is using its stimulus money to fund summer school programs designed specifically for students who didn’t score high enough on the state exams. When we suggested that current administrators’ job descriptions might be altered to include some of the duties of these six positions, and the stimulus money could be used to fund that portion of their salaries, thus freeing an equivalent number of dollars in the general fund that can be used to positively influence the student:teacher ratio, we received no reply. We have asked what specific research shows hiring more administrative help will improve students’ test performance.

In anticipation of this financial crisis, the board directed central office staff to come up with a plan. It was presented to the board at the February 11, 2009, meeting, and consisted of four tiers. The first tier went into effect immediately. It involved suspension of hiring and reduction of select spending, including building budgets. The second tier has since been instituted, and involved suspension of some course adoptions at the high school, reorganization of the delivery of the alternative school, staff cuts for non federally-funded certified and classified positions, and cuts in administration. (Although a few administrative positions have indeed been cut over the last 2-3 years, and while the people filling the positions listed above will apparently be on a teacher’s contract plus 10 days, based on job descriptions, it is our belief these people are being hired to assist in administrative duties rather than for the purpose of helping students 100% of their time.) The third tier involved further cuts to classified and certified staff, and reduction of select programs not directly related to graduation. The fourth and final tier, the majority of which is yet to be implemented as far as we can tell, involves cuts to athletic teams, a suspension of field trips, increased textbook and athletic fees, and a reduced work week.

Please contact board members and members of the community to express your concern regarding this situation. Teachers cannot be expected to bear the brunt of this fiscal crisis when there are other options.