Negotiators agree to teachers’ contract
Warren County teachers are within a month of working under a contract again as negotiators from the school board and the teachers’ union have reached a three-year agreement.
The new contract, which still must be approved by the full school board and teachers’ union members, is virtually the same as the previous three-year contract. The only major change is a $115 indexed salary increase for all certified personnel.
County teachers have been working without a contract since the beginning of the year. Negotiations were stalled recently after a previous contract proposal, ratified by the school board in December, was voted down by the teachers’ union. The reason for the defeat was a clause in the proposed contract which would have decreased teachers’ daily planning time from 40 minutes to 30 minutes.
Once teachers voiced their displeasure to this change, the school board agreed to leave planning time unchanged at 40 minutes a day. With that issue out of the way, negotiations turned to money.
Negotiation teams from both sides made several offers and counter offers until an indexed salary raise of $115 was agreed upon. Index raises are based upon an employee’s degrees and years of service, allowing some teachers and principals to receive a top-end raise of $345. This raise is in addition to the 2 percent raise the state will provide teachers.
The teachers’ union had originally proposed a $1,500 salary index raise, but modified it to $500 after members were informed of the correct index raise structure. Union negotiator Bonnie Drake cited the ever-increasing cost of health insurance, of which the county pays nothing, as the necessity for the raise.
“We’re losing teachers because of this. We lost one to Rutherford County just yesterday. In addition to a $6,000 raise, she will also only be paying $105 a month for the family insurance plan,” Drake said, noting the same plan costs Warren County teachers over $450 a month.
School board members expressed sympathy over the insurance premium increases, saying they too have been affected, but noted the school system simply does not have the $460,000 necessary to fund a $500 index raise.
“We understand where you’re coming from. We’re all in the same boat ? but $115, that’s the best we can do,” said school board member David Sneed.
“We wish we had more to give,” said fellow school board member Larry Judkins.
On behalf of the union, Drake accepted the offer, saying she knows they were negotiating in good faith. She noted the union will ask for more money next year.