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Committee, union approve contract |
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Friday, 06 November 2009 |
By ANDREW MARTIN
WOOD RIVER JCT. – A three-year contract for the Chariho Regional School District’s teachers was ratified by the School Committee and union last Thursday night, two months after the previous contract expired.
The agreement came after more than 90 hours of negotiation sessions, of which there were more than 20, according to Supt. Barry J. Ricci. He gave a presentation on the highlights of the agreement during a special School Committee meeting on Thursday.
Ricci explained to both the board members and several audience members that there were three overarching goals the School Committee wanted to meet. Those goals were to improve the quality of education, make the relationship between the district and union, the National Education Association’s (NEA) Chariho branch, more professional, and address short-term and long-term economic issues.
In a prepared statement by both the School Committee and NEA Chariho, the two groups stated their enthusiasm for the agreement.
“[We] look forward to professionally implementing the many facets of this agreement that will lead to increased student achievement and financial stability for both NEA Chariho members and the taxpayers who contribute to the Chariho Regional School District.”
The short- and long-term economic issues include a number of changes from the previous contract.
For one, the salary schedule has been amended for the duration of the three-year (2009 through 2012) agreement. Steps one through eight are frozen while steps nine and ten decline over the next three years.
There is a new step 11 that will increase over two years of the contract and then decrease. In 2009-10, it will increase by 2 percent and followed by 2.25 percent in 2010-11. Then, in 2011-2012, there will be a new step 12 that will go up by 2.25 and step 11 will decline.
Another change is that all teachers will contribute a 16 percent insurance co-pay by the third year of this agreement. Also, teachers who are out for 135 days will not advance to the next salary level and longevity has been eliminated for any new employees.
Any teachers who are temporarily without students – such as those with seniors who have already graduated – will have to cover classes without compensation.
In terms of improving the quality of education, committee member Andrew McQuaide, of Charlestown, pointed to the performance based compensation system as an “unprecedented” element of the contract. He also served on the board’s negotiating subcommittee with several other committee members.
Ricci also noted that this piece of the contract was a high priority for the School Committee. Per the contract, a joint study committee – with members picked by Ricci and the union – “will plan, implement, and evaluate a performance based compensation plan for tenured members of the bargaining unit.”
The contract also states that the School Committee, upon approval of the plan, will commit no less than $200,000 for each of the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years.
Also, as part of the improvement to education, the school day will be extended by 10 minutes. And, as a result, there will be up to 10 early release days to allow staff to analyze student achievement data more closely. An additional change is that elective high school courses will be offered at the discretion of the administration and no longer based on how many students sign up for the course.
The other “unprecedented” piece of the contract is its just cause language for removal of staff members, according to McQuaide. Per the contract, just cause includes but is not limited to five regulations, which range from a teacher engaging in behavior that may cause harm to students, parents, and/or staff members to consistent violations of School Committee policy.
Ricci noted that many of the above elements of the contract came from a public hearing last December regarding the agreement.
The board voted 8-2-1 to approve the contract. The dissenting voters were Georgia Ure and George Abbott, both of which represent Hopkinton. Andrew Polouski, of Charlestown, recused from voting. About 20 minutes after the board voted, it was announced that the union also approved the contract.
Committee member William Day, of Richmond, could not be involved in the negotiations process because of a conflict of interest, but he wanted to commend those who made it happen. “This contract is huge,” he said, adding that it contains pieces that the board tried to do years ago.
“And we finally got some of it done,” Day added.
You can view the entire contract, press release, and fiscal impact statement at Chariho’s website (www.chariho.k12.ri.us). |
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