Published: March 13, 2008 11:52 am            

New Albany-Floyd County teachers ending voluntary services

Union upset no contract has been reached

Teachers with the New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. will stop all voluntary services at the end of this month if no contract agreement is made in the collective-bargaining process.

“We have spent over 70 hours talking to the administration’s team about their regressive, insulting, divisive proposals — by far the worst I’ve ever seen in my 10-plus years on the bargaining team,” said Doug Taylor, president of the education association that represents nearly 700 teachers, in a news release. “We’re having the exact same conversation over and over again.”

Since the mediation process is ongoing, the school system will not discuss the matter, said Dave Rarick, director of communications for NA-FC schools.

“We support our teachers and will continue to work on a resolution,” he said.

The association is seeking a 3.75 percent increase in salary for the 2007-08 school year and a 3 percent increase in 2008-09, according to a previous report. Other sticking points include class size, personal leave, planning time and nonteaching duty assignments.

The association also said teachers are being asked to agree to a contract that will charge new teachers more for health insurance than what existing teachers pay.

The contract expired Dec. 31, but will remain effective until a new agreement is settled.

“Every day, they ask us to do more and more. They insult us with take-backs and divisive proposals,” said Steve Bonifer, teacher and bargaining team member, in the release. “Then they want us to purposely hurt new teachers and that will create a rift among us. It’s pretty clear they’re trying to divide and conquer.

“We have no choice but to move on to phase two.”

The association says that means stopping all of the extras that teachers do for no additional pay, such as camping trips, overnight field trips, dances and graduation supervision.

The school system isn’t the only one going through negations. Teachers at Greater Clark County Schools have been without a contract since August and will use the old one until an agreement is made.

Teachers at North Harrison Community School Corp. in Harrison County have been without a contract for more than four years. Teachers there, too, have been working using their old contract and will continue to do so until a settlement is reached.

As for Floyd County, a state-appointed mediator has been working with the teachers and corporation to try to come up with an agreement.

If the sides fail to make progress with the mediator, a state-appointed fact-finder will be brought in to issue a nonbinding recommendation.

        

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