|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
News
Agreement reached on teachers' contract : News : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisAgreement reached on teachers' contract
| School district board, teachers expected to ratify pact
| by Lyle R. Rolfe
| 12/27/2012
|
The bargaining teams for the Oswego Education Association (OEA) and Oswego School District Board reached a tentative agreement on a new, three-year contract last week, Board President Bill Walsh said Friday.
If OEA members and the school district board ratify the proposed contract, it will be retroactive to July 1 of this year and extend through June 30, 2015.
Details of the new contract have not yet been released.
In a prepared statement, Walsh said, "The challenges of paying competitive wages and benefits must be balanced with the unfortunate economic realities directly affecting the school district.
"I believe both parties appreciate those struggles. I know this board truly values all employees and appreciates their dedication to provide students the foundation for success in life after District 308.
"I appreciate the commitment and time everyone dedicated to the negotiation process. I believe everyone is excited to continue to move forward and see the positive developments of the curriculum, as well as other educational programs in the years to come."
Walsh said the board will place the contract on the agenda for a board meeting next month for adoption.
"Representatives of the OEA and the district will soon finalize the contract and OEA membership is expected to ratify the contract," he said in the statement.
The OEA represents about 1,050 teachers.
"Thanks to the professionalism and dedication of the teachers, the lack of a contract never interrupted the learning process for the more than 17,000 district students," Darla Medernach, OEA co-president said.
"While teachers did make inquiries at different times, they had faith that the bargaining team would bring back a fair and equitable agreement that met the needs of both the association and the district," she said.
Superintendent Dr. Matthew Wendt commended the negotiators, board members, administrators, legal officials and union leaders for their efforts to come to an agreement.
"I look forward to working with our faculty and focusing with them on issues that will result in a shared vision, board-approved goals, and reform efforts to improve student achievement," he said.
During a board meeting last month, Maureen Lemon, an attorney for the district, said they were discussing both two and three year contracts. She noted that it appeared the cost to the district would be close to or could exceed $1 million no matter which offer is accepted.
At that time Lemon said they had met three times and had agreed on all issues except two.
The first issue was the teacher work-day at the high school. She said the expired contract was based on a 40-hour work-week consisting of 27 hours of student contact time and 13 hours of preparation, lunch and planning including 1 hour of off-site preparation.
Last year the district had used the block schedule at the high school, teaching three, 90-minute periods totaling 270 minutes of instructional time, plus a 30-minute lunch and a 60-minute preparation period each day, she said.
As of this year, the high school changed to a traditional eight-period day with 48-minute periods.
Depending on what changes might have been made, it could have resulted in the hiring of 12 to 22 additional high school teachers to cover additional teaching minutes at an estimated cost of $900,000 to $1.6 million, Lemon said at that meeting.
She said the second outstanding issue was salary. The proposals from both sides could have cost the district anywhere from $600,000 for a one percent wage hike or between $1.5 to $1.8 million for the union's proposal of more than a four percent hike, she said.
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
