Tuesday, July 10, 2012
After nearly three hours of negotiations, USD 234 officials and Fort Scott Kansas National Education Association members failed to reach an agreement regarding salaries and the district’s health insurance contribution for the 2012-2013 school year.
Representatives from both sides, including new Superintendent Diane Gross, met Monday at the board office to discuss items still up for negotiation on teacher contracts for the coming school year. Educators recently accepted the district’s offer to use end-of-the-year funds to recoup lost steps from 2009 through 2012 as a separate item. Checks were made available on July 3 for those who were eligible.
District officials had previously promised to forfeit any new money — totaling about $148,000 — acquired from the state legislature’s proposed $58 increase in base state aid per pupil funding to help pay for salary increases or step movement.
School board president and spokeswoman Janet Braun said based on available funds, the district could offer one of two proposals: a 2 percent raise and funding for advanced degree movement, but no step movement within the salary schedule; or advanced degree movement, one step within the salary schedule and a 1 percent raise. Neither district offer included any additional contribution for employee health insurance.
After discussing the offers, Fort Scott KNEA representatives declined both scenarios counter-proposing a $30 contribution to health insurance and a one-time “loyalty stipend,” or bonus, for some 45 individuals considered “stuck” in the salary schedule and who didn’t receive any back pay from the lost steps. The bonuses would cost the district about $22,000.
Fort Scott High School social science teacher and KNEA lead negotiator Roberta Lewis said, “we have a hard time letting our experienced teachers go backwards.
“We feel that those who voted for the offer (to recoup lost steps) and got nothing, they deserve something more,” Lewis said. “We would accept $25 on the insurance, but we would like the bonus for those people.”
After going back and forth for most of the morning, district representatives agreed to the $25 health contribution, but Braun said the insurance offer only stands without the bonus.
“The bonus is the problem,” Braun said. “The new money stops with 1 percent and advanced degrees and we can’t go over the new money at this point. We just feel like the district has other needs and we want to give you all the new money, but we can’t take it away from the other people or things.”
Money has been the most contentious item during this round of negotiations, with both sides refusing to budge. Fort Scott KNEA representatives continue to ask for salary increases while district officials contend they’ve offered all they can afford while still leaving the district fiscally responsible.
“The board came to us with their parameters,” Lewis said. “With our people, we ask that they try to find the additional money to give them (teachers).”
The teachers are willing to compromise, Lewis said, if the board “gives us something to work with.
“We’ll see what we can do from that, but we ultimately feel like they need something and we want them to get that,” she said.
Braun said the district’s proposals were the “last and best final offers.
“I had gone as far as I can go based on what I was told by other board members and that was as far as they felt comfortable going,” Braun said.
Both parties did agree to revise and clarify language referring to personal and sick days. It was decided that personal and sick days would be considered under discretionary leave, allowing more flexibility for educators under the negotiated agreement.
Braun brought the results of the negotiations to fellow board members at an executive session at Monday’s regular board meeting. The next scheduled teacher contract negotiations are scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday.
“My guess is we’ll either settle, or we’ll file for impasse because that’s where we are,” Braun said.
Angelique McNaughton 