Teachers work without contract

By WILL STEWART / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

WATLINGTON

Warren County teachers continue to work without a contract as negotiations between the school board and the teachers union are stalled due to a disagreement over teacher planning time.

The three-year contract, already ratified by the school board, is very similar to the previous three-year contract, the only major exception being a change from a minimum of 40 minutes planning time per day to a minimum of 30 minutes per day.

This is not popular with many teachers as union members failed to ratify the contract by a vote of 98-51.

“Teachers feel like time is being taken away from them,” said Warren County Education Association co-president Regina Woodlee. “We may not realistically get 40 minutes, but when 30 minutes is put in, teachers feel like they’re being robbed.”

The goal for planning time, which is defined as time teachers have free from students, is 55 minutes per day. Both teachers and administrators acknowledge that this, because of scheduling difficulties, is often impossible. This is particularly true for county elementary school teachers, who, unlike their counterparts at the high school and middle school, are not given a specific planning time every day.

These elementary teachers must take their planing time when their students have P.E., music, and art, for example. Some may get only 30 minutes one day, but might receive 60 or more the next.

An additional hurdle to ratifying a contract was created at last week’s school board Negotiations Committee meeting when board members challenged the legitimacy of letting only the 149 members of the teachers union vote on the contract, which covers all 474 county teachers.

By contract, the teachers union is the exclusive representative of all non-management, professional personnel for the purpose of collective bargaining and presenting grievances. As Tennessee is a right-to-work state, a teacher cannot be forced to join the union. However, any contract concessions won by the union benefit all teachers, regardless of union membership status.

“Our (the school board) proposition is since you (the union) represent all certified employees we want a vote of all of those employees,” said Negotiations Committee chairperson Deborah Watlington.

Teachers union negotiator Bonnie Drake replied that only dues-paying union members actually vote on contracts, although union leaders would be happy to survey all teachers and get their opinions on which planning time option they prefer.

In other contract matters, the teachers union proposed a $1,500 index salary increase for all certified personnel.

An additional Negotiations Committee meeting is scheduled for this afternoon. At this time results of the planning time survey will be presented and negotiations will resume.