Offers on the table at McGuffey
McGuffey School Board and teachers union have submitted their final best offers as part of the arbitration process.
The submittals, which were released Wednesday, are the latest step in negotiations that have lasted more than 15 months. Teachers struck for two days in March before the mandatory nonbinding arbitration.
The best offers show that the two sides have differences on salary, benefits, retirement incentive and length of contract. The union wants a five-year deal while the board wants it to last three years.
The board wants a retroactive 3.59 percent salary increase for 2009-10, 3.53 percent for 2010-11 and 3.59 percent for 2011-12. The starting salary for 2009-10 would be $33,500 while the maximum would be $73,732 for teachers with doctorate degrees. No teachers in McGuffey have doctorate degrees. In the third year of the contract, the board wants a starting salary of $34,700 and a maximum of $75,732.
The union wants a 4.16 increase for each year of the contract. It also wants to eliminate the doctorate pay scale from the contract.
In 2009-10, the union wants the starting salary to be $34,420 and the maximum to be $78,623. The maximum is for a teacher with a master’s degree plus 30 credit hours. In the fifth year of the contract, the union wants the starting salary to be $43,304 and the maximum to be $78,623.
School board member Doug Teagarden said the sides are close on salaries. He said he hopes that the negotiations can be resolved soon.
However, the district’s stance on health insurance is firm, said Teagarden, who is also on the negotiating team.
“I don’t know how you can get much more fair than that,” he said of the district’s proposal.
The board wants the amount teachers pay for health care to remain the same for this school year at $15 for single coverage and $30 for family coverage. However, it wants teachers to pay half the cost of increases in premiums for future years of the contract.
The union wants to pay $15 for single coverage and $30 for family coverage in the 2009-10 school year, $20 and $40 respectively for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years, $25 and $50 respectively for the 2012-13 school year and $30 and $60 respectively for the 2013-14 school year.
The board wants a retirement incentive that pays $10,000 a year for eight years or until age of Medicare eligibility. The board also wants to offer the incentive in one of the last two years of the contract.
The union wants a retirement incentive of $9,500 deposited into a tax-sheltered retirement account for nine years or until the age of Medicare eligibility.
After perusing the board’s best offer, union spokesman Andrew MacBeth said that this is definitely moving in the right direction.
“The board submitted a credible offer,” he said. “We submitted a credible offer as well. I hope this will help us reach a fair agreement.”
The public will have 10 days to comment on the two offers. All comments should be written with name and address so the writer can be identified as a McGuffey resident.
The comments should be placed in a sealed envelope and addressed to arbitrator Robert Gifford. The envelope should be taken to the administration office and the sealed envelope will be forwarded to the arbitrator during the hearing.
The hearing will be May 10 at the district administrative offices.
A decision must be made within 20 days of the hearing and then the board and union will have to vote on the decision within 10 days.
Read the two offers at www.observer-reporter.com/OR/sourcedoc/. Copies are also available in the district administrative offices.
The submittals, which were released Wednesday, are the latest step in negotiations that have lasted more than 15 months. Teachers struck for two days in March before the mandatory nonbinding arbitration.
The best offers show that the two sides have differences on salary, benefits, retirement incentive and length of contract. The union wants a five-year deal while the board wants it to last three years.
The board wants a retroactive 3.59 percent salary increase for 2009-10, 3.53 percent for 2010-11 and 3.59 percent for 2011-12. The starting salary for 2009-10 would be $33,500 while the maximum would be $73,732 for teachers with doctorate degrees. No teachers in McGuffey have doctorate degrees. In the third year of the contract, the board wants a starting salary of $34,700 and a maximum of $75,732.
The union wants a 4.16 increase for each year of the contract. It also wants to eliminate the doctorate pay scale from the contract.
In 2009-10, the union wants the starting salary to be $34,420 and the maximum to be $78,623. The maximum is for a teacher with a master’s degree plus 30 credit hours. In the fifth year of the contract, the union wants the starting salary to be $43,304 and the maximum to be $78,623.
School board member Doug Teagarden said the sides are close on salaries. He said he hopes that the negotiations can be resolved soon.
However, the district’s stance on health insurance is firm, said Teagarden, who is also on the negotiating team.
“I don’t know how you can get much more fair than that,” he said of the district’s proposal.
The board wants the amount teachers pay for health care to remain the same for this school year at $15 for single coverage and $30 for family coverage. However, it wants teachers to pay half the cost of increases in premiums for future years of the contract.
The union wants to pay $15 for single coverage and $30 for family coverage in the 2009-10 school year, $20 and $40 respectively for the 2010-11 and 2011-12 school years, $25 and $50 respectively for the 2012-13 school year and $30 and $60 respectively for the 2013-14 school year.
The board wants a retirement incentive that pays $10,000 a year for eight years or until age of Medicare eligibility. The board also wants to offer the incentive in one of the last two years of the contract.
The union wants a retirement incentive of $9,500 deposited into a tax-sheltered retirement account for nine years or until the age of Medicare eligibility.
After perusing the board’s best offer, union spokesman Andrew MacBeth said that this is definitely moving in the right direction.
“The board submitted a credible offer,” he said. “We submitted a credible offer as well. I hope this will help us reach a fair agreement.”
The public will have 10 days to comment on the two offers. All comments should be written with name and address so the writer can be identified as a McGuffey resident.
The comments should be placed in a sealed envelope and addressed to arbitrator Robert Gifford. The envelope should be taken to the administration office and the sealed envelope will be forwarded to the arbitrator during the hearing.
The hearing will be May 10 at the district administrative offices.
A decision must be made within 20 days of the hearing and then the board and union will have to vote on the decision within 10 days.
Read the two offers at www.observer-reporter.com/OR/sourcedoc/. Copies are also available in the district administrative offices.
Labels: McGuffey arbitration
posted by Dawn Keller at
9:54 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home