Union Gives $1.5 Million in Concessions to Saline Area Schools

Saline Area Schools and the Saline Education Association have agreed to restructure the final year of their collective bargaining agreement to save the district approximately $1.5 million in 2011-12.

The teachers' union voted on the contract Monday. The district's board of education voted 5-1 in favor of the agreement at Tuesday's meeting. Board President Chuck Lesch and trustees Amy Cattell, David Medley, Craig Hoeft and Todd Carter voted in favor of the deal. Trustee Lisa Slawson was against the deal. Trustee David Friese was absent.

The deal stipulates that all SEA members will return 5.5 days of pay to the district, which essentially gives back the 2.5 percent pay increase that was called for in the three-year contract that expires June 30, 2011. SEA members will also begin paying 10 percent of their insurance premiums. The amendment also includes language about the site-based shared decision-making on non-funding related issues, like curriculum and professional development.

The nearly $1.5 million in savings, coupled with last week's announcement that the state was reducing the size of the cuts to K-12 education, means that Saline's projected deficit of $5.9 million has been trimmed to just over $3 million.

Last Friday, the board sent layoff notices to the 68 teachers with lowest seniority. Many of those teachers will be called back, with some in smaller roles, said Superintendent Scot Graden, who added that he expected the equivalent of 18 to 20 full-time jobs to be lost. The board voted 4-2 to approve the resolution calling for the reduction in certified staff. Trustees Slawson and Carter voted against the resolution.

The agreement between the teachers' union and the board received mixed reviews from board members and the audience.

The board members in favor of the contract amendment seemed to agree that the concessions were about as much as could have been expected given the district's lack of leverage. The union was not obligated to reopen the contract.

"The SEA has a binding contract and was under no obligation to negotiate this year. It would have been nice to have more, but we need to work with what we have and move on," said Lesch. "It's just the nature of the game."

Slawson asked Graden if there were options on the negotiating table that might have prevented layoffs. Graden said administration presented proposed concessions that would have come with a guarantee that no teachers were laid off. Slawson voted against the contract, suggesting that more should have been given to prevent the layoffs.

"This makes my heart hurt. I do not feel comfortable with this," said Slawson, adding that many of the affected teachers have had profound impacts on her children. "I salute these teachers for what they do every day. Every year, it seems, they go forward with uncertainty about their job, yet they don't bring their worry into the classroom. They deserve to stay here, because they are what make us Saline Area Schools."

Slawson also said she was worried about drawing down on the fund balance, which, at $2.9 million is still above the district policy requiring the a fund balance of at least 5 percent of the annual budget.

SEA President Tim Heim, who is leaving his post as union leader, said he was confused by the message the board seemed to be sending. Heim said that when he sat down to talk with Graden about what the district wanted, he was told about the district's plan to balance the budget with the "Three Cs"—$2 million in cuts, $2 million in concessions, and $2 million cash from the fund balance. He noted that the new deficit was about $4.5 million, and that teachers gave up about $1.5 million in concessions, maintaining that the "Three Cs" ratio.

"What is the message here? You told us what you needed and that's what we gave you. And now teachers are the villains here? Teachers didn't do enough?" said Heim. "I look at the $650 million that the Republican governor shifted from the school aid fund. We didn't shift that money. We gave up money and we gave up insurance to help fund Saline Area Schools."

Slawson left the board  table and took the podium to respond to Heim and explain her vote, saying she supported teachers, but that the school funding model was broken.

"I am an advocate for teachers. I will be one of the first to point it out when a teacher does something wonderful. But I represent the taxpayers of the Saline Area Schools District," Slawson said.

Val Porter, president of the Saline support staff union representing 200 workers, was disappointed by the agreement and suggested the support staff won't give away concessions so easily in the future.

"The support staff are making less now than we did a year ago and the teachers continue to make more," Porter said. "I see it coming down to us again, as low man on the totem pole, and we're hearing talks about privatization again. This makes me very said.  The support staff is going to stand strong."

Many members in the audience criticized the contract for not going far enough.

Judy McCoy, who was a leader in the campaign against the bond proposal in February, said before the vote that the teachers should give back as much as it takes to avoid layoffs. 

"We're going to have to change our name from 'We Can't Afford It' to 'No Teacher Left Behind,'" she joked.

After the vote she said she was disappointed in the district's negotiating. She took issue with Heim's assertion that the teachers had done their fair share, noting salaries and benefits make up 85 percent of the district's costs.

"Unless you made up for 85 percent (of the deficit), you haven't done your share," said McCoy.

John Cruz said he was shocked to learn how much teachers made. Using a report from a local radio host, Cruz said that there were 10 teachers making $100,000 a year in the district.

Dave Holden said the SEA was taking its queues from the MEA, which had "imposed a union culture" on the teaching profession, so that teachers were being treated like "assembly line workers."

John Waterman, however, said he thought the union and district did the right thing.

"I want to thank you. That was not an easy vote. It was shocking to hear that the teachers came to the table when they did not have to, to help the district out. They gave back when they didn't have to. I am proud of what the teachers did," Waterman said.

The following teachers received layoff notices:

Adam Rodriguez, Amber Powers, Andrew Perry, Angelin Howard, Antoinette Bogdanski, Beth Russow, Bradley Woehlke, Brenda Eisele, Brian Ball, Bridget Corie, Caroline Stout, Catherine Redies, Christine Synowiec McGee, Claudia Whitsitt, Cristin Hodgens, Dana Restrick, David Hyun Hum Yon, David Reeves, Diane Junga, Erica Peplinski, Gregory Williams, Heather Fyall, J. Gerry Harrison, Jacquelyn Easton, Jeffrey Barnett, Jeffrey Kazee, Jeffrey Waltz, Jennifer Denzin, Joanna Mierkowicz, Jodi McMaster, Jodi Laurent, Joshua Reeves, Julie Whitmore, Julie Myers, Julie Kelley, Justin Marshall, Kathleen Goldhardt, Kathryn Spencer, Kerry Leazier, Kevin McCown, Kimberly Franco, Kimberly Gall, Kristen Glatz, Kristin, Girbach, Lin Nichols, Linda Schrieber, Lisa York, Lucas Foster, Maranda Moore, Marcia Krasko, Mark Messmore, Mary Marshall, Matthew Ceo, Megan Degrand, Melissa Talladay, Melissa Styn, Meredith Franzel, Natalie Freeburn, Rachel Porter, Robert Redies, Samuel Musto, Scott Marvin, Stacy Cherry, Stephen Hasselbach, Timothy Krohn, Tracy Schick, Ty Robbins and William Elliott.

The district is holding the second of two community forums on the school budget at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Liberty School Media Center.