Fact finder:Salaries, insurance, sick time among ‘major obstacles’ in Manchester teacher talks
A fact finder's report was issued
According to the report, there are "four major obstacles for the parties to overcome in order to reach even a partial agreement": salaries and salary scale, health insurance, paid time off versus sick leave, and pending state legislation.
Cooper recommends the adoption of a salary schedule that was offered by the school board back on
"While the Association (MEA) has not given on all aspects of the remaining issues in dispute, there has been sufficient give and take on the remaining issues that whatever the excess cost is to implement the
"This is a case where getting the school board to where they want to be will take all of the four years that this salary will be in effect. But if this is the cost of making a peaceful transition to a worthwhile and workable salary scale, I doubt that as of
A copy of the school board's
On health insurance, Cooper recommends the school board's program be implemented in the first year of any new contract, because
"I recommend this notwithstanding the fact that
On the issue of paid time off versus sick leave, Cooper's recommendation is the parties continue negotiations on the issue of providing PTO in lieu of sick leave, but "for now I am unwilling to recommend wholesale adoption of a PTO in lieu of accrued sick leave."
The school board proposed the elimination of accrued sick leave and the adoption of a PTO proposal where each teacher would be entitled to 11 days of paid time off, which would include all of their excused time off including sick leave, personal leave, Association leave, sick leave bank and such other time off except professional development days and bereavement leave, as currently provided in the contract.
In place of the use of accrued sick leave school officials proposed a short-term disability policy which would pay 60% of an employee's salary (federal income tax free) which would cover the teacher after 14 days of sickness/disability and for up to 26 weeks. If a teacher remained disabled after 26 weeks, the teacher would be eligible for long-term disability until
The school board proposed any teacher with accrued sick leave as of
"The Association's response to this proposal was short and sweet: The teachers would have none of it," wrote Cooper.
Cooper referred to the school board proposal as "a dramatic change in working conditions."
"No teacher is going to vote in favor of removing a fundamental benefit that is directly administered by the school district to jump into an insurance-like agreement administered by a third party vendor," writes Cooper.
"This is not to say that the Association should sit back and pretend that there is no problem with certain teachers taking advantage of the school board's liberal sick leave policy and milking it to the detriment of the students, the school administrators and their fellow teachers. The Association should take a leading role in making those abusers feel uncomfortable and guilty at their respective schools. The Association and the teachers know who the miscreant sick leave abusers are and a coordinated shunning and shaming may go a long way to changing behavior, but that takes courage and fortitude for teachers to effectively discipline their own."
On the topic of pending state legislation, Cooper writes that school board members acknowledged there is legislation pending in
"The chances of this amounting to a 'ton' of money is very doubtful," writes Cooper. "However if
On Monday, school board Vice Chairman
If one or the other votes to accept it, the report will be sent to the
"
"The MEA has voted but the results will be withheld until the Board votes next week, by request of our membership and Executive Board vote," said MEA President
Negotiations committee members include school board members
The most recent agreement with the more than 1,100 members of the MEA expired on
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