West Greene, teachers reach contract agreement

ROGERSVILLE - Negotiations between West Greene School District and its teachers union have lasted more than a year, and the process finally bore fruit.

The school board approved a new three-year pact at a special meeting Monday.

Teachers will receive raises of $1,600 this year, $1,700 next year and $2,100 in 2011-12. In exchange, they will begin paying for a portion of their medical insurance coverage in the final year of the contract.

Teachers worked most of this school year without a contract since the old one expired June 30. The changes are retroactive to that date, so teachers will get their raise for this year in a lump sum.

"In these negotiations, it always seems to come down to salaries and benefits. It's just a matter of hashing that out and coming to a resolution," said Thelma Szarell, district superintendent.

The road to that resolution was a long one. Representatives from the district and the teachers union started negotiating well over a year ago. The union never publicly threatened to strike, but stalled talks prompted several educators to resign from club sponsorship positions at the beginning of the school year. Administrators took the reigns of many of those clubs.

"We are pleased that we have reached an agreement that reflects compromises made by the bargaining unit and the board that are in the interests of students and the community," said Myleen McCollum, president of West Greene Education Association. "We feel it is good for the members of the bargaining unit and affordable to the district."

She said the teachers wanted their salaries increased so they would be paid similarly to teachers in neighboring school districts.

A teacher with a bachelor's degree but little or no experience will make $30,300 this year, and the starting salary will jump to $34,100 in 2011-12. At the top end of the scale, teachers with 30 years of experience, a master's degree and at least 30 credits beyond that degree will make $59,975, and in the final year of the pact, the top salary will be $63,775.

Teachers' health insurance will be relatively unchanged for the first two years of the contract. Teachers pay a $10 co-pay for every doctor visit, but they pay nothing toward the premium. In the final year of the agreement, the teachers will pay between $20 and $34 each two-week pay period for medical insurance. The cost for a single person is $20, $26 for a parent and children, $30 for a couple and $34 for a family.

The school board approved the contract with a 8-0 vote. Director James Handley, whose wife is a teacher, abstained.

"We are glad to go about the business of educating the students after two years of preparing and negotiating," McCollum said.

However, the district will soon have to begin negotiations again, since the newly approved contract expires in a little over two years.

Copyright Observer Publishing Co.