Schools

Parkland To Enter Early Contract Negotiations With Teachers

Union head is optimistic that negotiations will go smoothly.

The head of the Parkland Education Association said Thursday the teachers’ union will enter into "early-bird" contract negotiations with the  administration in hopes of reaching an early agreement on a new contract.

"Early bird is what we would hope to accomplish," said Association President Sandi Gackenbach.

The school board gave Superintendent Richard Sniscak the go-ahead this week to begin the informal negotiations with the union. Formal negotiations would begin in January if an agreement is not reached. 

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“This is a good time to begin contract negotiations knowing that our teacher’s contract is expiring in a year, especially as the law known as Act 1 has significantly pushed the budget planning process forward by many months," Sniscak said in an email.

"Decisions about the 2012-13 school year have to be made soon under the Act 1 timeline.  Our ability to ratify a contract will help both parties plan for the future.”

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Gachenbach said the hope is that a new contract can be reached within four to five meetings, with the first meeting with the administration team likely to be sometime in September. 

The teachers are entering their final year of a five-year contract, which allows for a 4.9 percent increase on the total payroll for the 2011-2012 school year. Not everyone will be realizing that increase this school year, Gackenbach has previously said, since a teacher’s education level and years of service figure into it.

Gackenbach said the "early bird" negotiations would not open up the entire contract, but rather focus on a couple key articles, such as salaries and health benefits. Given current economic conditions, she said, that approach to a new contract is beneficial.

The Parkland School District went through a challenging budget process for the 2011-2012 school year. It passed a $138 million budget in June that raised taxes 3.8 percent, froze administrators' salaries and cut 60 teacher and staff positions, about half through retirements and resignations. 

Gachenbach said the union is "certainly prepared" for the district to propose no salary increase for the first year of a new contract and that the union is "very realistic" about the economy.

She said she is optimistic about the informal negotiations, given prior meetings with administrators that she described as collaborative. She said she anticipates a "smooth and seamless process." 


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