Published: April 29, 2008 11:28 am            

Contract talks take center stage at New Albany-Floyd County School Corp. board meeting

The New Albany-Floyd County Consolidated School Corp. board approved a reduction in force plan that will eliminate three teachers, and the panel also made its first public statement regarding the collective-bargaining process at Monday night’s school board meeting.

Teachers have been working using their old contract, which expired at the end of December. The state appointed a mediator, who has been meeting with the education association and corporation to try and reach an agreement. Their last session, on April 15, ended with no resolution.

The association has asked teachers to quit voluntary services during contract talks, such as overnight field trips and working athletic events, and has been giving out fliers detailing their viewpoint.

When Rebecca Gardenour, board president, was shown one of those fliers last week by The Tribune, she said she would make a public comment on it at the board meeting.

“Teachers are the lifeblood of our corporation and their contribution can’t be overstated,” she said at the meeting.

She went on to cite some figures, saying NA-FC teachers earn on average $2,489 more than the state average, and their average pay increase is more than 4 percent higher than the state’s rate. She said an average teacher with NA-FC makes $44.23 an hour and that teachers at the top of the scale, which account for 40 percent of teachers, make $56.56 an hour.

She also said that every year for the first 17 years of a teacher’s career, that person gets a pay increase ranging from 1.5 to 3.8 percent. She said that is separate from the negotiated raises talked about in the collective-bargaining process.

“State budget deficits have created dilemmas in many school corporations, including ours,” Gardenour said. “In fact, over the past three years, we have spent more than we have received. During the same time, however, we have approved significant pay increases for teachers ...

“We can’t ignore the rippling effect, crippling our ability to sustain substantial pay increases without cutting programs that benefit children ...

“We intend to negotiate a fair raise with our teachers association. However, this settlement cannot be at the expense of our students and programs.”

Bill Briscoe, assistant to the superintendent for administration and operations, said he plans on asking the association to come back to the bargaining table, but this time using the consensus problem-solving model, which has been used for the past 15 years. Gardenour said that way was put aside at the beginning of the school year, in lieu of a new process of retreat bargaining.

Doug Taylor, president of the association, said the switch is a little late.

“We want it to work. We want a fair settlement and a fair contract, but this just seems like we’re switching horses mid-stride,” he said.

He also did not like the statement Gardenour read. During the meeting, he yelled out against it many times, but was told he was speaking out of turn. Gardenour referred to the meeting’s rules, which allow for public comments at the beginning of the meeting. Taylor had spoken out during that time, too.

“I was surprised and somewhat alarmed that they would put out a statement like that,” Taylor said after the meeting. “It boils everything down to salary, and it’s so much more than that.”

Taylor said it’s also about class size and elementary planning time.

He said he was not happy with how the board handled him speaking out.

“[The board’s tone] illuminates clearly for me sort of what we need to do in the future,” he said. “It encourages more crisis activities.”

Taylor said that means continuing with the stopping of voluntary activities as well as having a rally with teachers picketing at the next school board meeting May 12.

The next bargaining meeting is slated for the next day.



Reduction in force hits NA-FC

The reduction-in-force plan will eliminate three teachers, including the building trades teacher at Prosser School of Technology. The other positions that were cut were the physical-education teachers at Highland Hills Middle School and Scribner Middle School.

Those teachers have more seniority than others in the corporation, so they will move to a high-school position and a elementary position, respectively. That essentially will lay off the teachers that hold those jobs.

Teresa Perkins, assistant to the superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said other cuts were satisfied by not replacing some teachers who have retired.

Superintendent Dennis Brooks said this is part of a plan to reduce the budget, which over the past six years has been cut by close to $6 million.



Stopping the flu in its tracks

The board also approved a plan that will allow the Floyd County Health Department to administer FluMist vaccines at the schools in the fall. The vaccine will be free to Medicaid recipients and students who don’t have health insurance. Most others will be charged $20.

Perkins said she hopes this will allow more children who may not be able to afford the vaccine a chance to get it. She said it will also have a convenience factor for the others, who will not have to miss school to see a doctor to get the vaccine.

To participate, parents of students must fill out a consent form and return it by May 16, with the fee if applicable.

        

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