District 300's Final Offer to LEAD 300

Today at 11:00 a.m., the Board forwarded its final offer to LEAD 300.  The elements below are part of a package proposal to the union.

Major components addressed in this package proposal include salary, insurance, retirement, and extra pay; elementary class size; high school schedule and teacher load; issues related to education services (special education); teacher plan time; teacher arrival and departure time; and other issues related to working conditions. This synopsis is not inclusive of the full Board proposal, but attempts to highlight the major issues discussed during negotiations and recent mediation sessions.

 Elementary Class Size Proposal:

The Board agrees with the teachers union that reducing class size at the elementary level is a top priority. To that end, the Board is committed to spending approximately $2.4 million to lower class size, which funds 27.5 additional teachers and lowers the number of students in 85 classrooms.

Level

Current Classroom Limits

Guaranteed Classroom Limits

Kindergarten     

Maximum of 32 students       

Maximum of 28 students

Grade 1-2

Maximum of 34 students

Maximum of 28 students

Grade 3-5

Maximum of 36 students

Maximum of 31 students

 Salary Proposal:

The Board is committed to giving raises to teachers in the form of step increases (a salary increase based on the length of time a teacher has been employed in the district) for each year of the contract, as well as a percentage increase to base pay in the first and third years of the contract.

School Year

Proposed Salary Increase

Notes

2012-2013

2.75%

(includes an average step increase of approximately 2%)

2013-2014

2.00%

(includes an average step increase of approximately 2%)

2014-2015

2.50%

(includes an average step increase of approximately 2%)

 
Teachers with a Masters or Doctorate degree on Step 25 of the salary schedule will receive increase of 2.75% in Year 1, 2.00% in Year 2, and 2.50% in Year 3. 

Insurance Proposal:

No change to current contribution levels. 

The teachers' proportionate share of premium payments for health, dental or vision insurance will not increase.  If the annual premium increases beyond 14% a joint administration and LEAD committee will meet to discuss plan changes to limit the increase.   

Retirement Proposal:

It is common knowledge that the General Assembly is considering legislation that would shift the State's required contributions to the teachers' pension system to local school districts, or penalize local school districts for any end of career salary increases. 

The Board believes that end-of-service retirement enhancements need to be phased out.  Therefore, the Board has proposed that the current retirement plan's end-of-career salary increases be phased out during the three years of this agreement and that the post-retirement benefit be reduced. 

This allows teachers at or near retirement age to have one final opportunity to take advantage of end of career salary increases. 

School Year

Proposed change to end-of-career salary increases

2012-2013

6% increase over their prior year's base salary for four years

2013-2014

3% increase over their prior year's base salary for four years

2014-2015

3% increase over their prior year's base salary for four years

At the conclusion of the 2014-2015 school year, new retirees will no longer be eligible for an end-of-career salary increase. 

 High School Schedule and Working Conditions:

In order to improve working conditions resulting from recent changes to the structure of the high school day, the Board agrees to LEAD's proposal of moving to a nine period high school day.  This can be accomplished without changes to the current start and end times of the school day, and would include:

• Five periods of classroom assignments, with the exception of music and PE teachers
• One period of supervision, which could include lunch supervision, academic support period, tutoring center, study hall, or compliance period for education services staff
• One period of duty free lunch
• Two periods of plan preparation

 Education Services Compliance Assurance Days Proposal:

In order to address compliance of student Individualized Educational Plans, elementary and middle school special education teachers will be allocated an additional five compliance assurance days, for a total of eight days, each school year.

This will also allow education services staff the appropriate time to meet the ever changing legal requirements and maintain appropriate communication with parents and outside agencies. 

 Additional proposals that impact or enhance teacher working conditions:

• Co-teaching pairs will be compensated for one hour of plan time a week at the non-instructional rate if schedules do not allow for a common plan time between the pair during the school day.
• The Board agrees with LEAD 300's concept of increased flexibility for teacher arrival and departure times.
• The Board agrees with LEAD 300's concept of increased flexibility for teacher plan time.
• The Board agrees with LEAD 300's concept of defined parameters for faculty and department meetings.
• The Board agrees with LEAD 300 that bullying should not be tolerated in the workplace. The Board has proposed a joint effort to create a Board policy to address this issue.
• The Board has proposed an increase to the extra-duty pay schedule equal to 2% for the 2012-2013 SY, 1% for the 2013-2014 SY and 1% for the 2014-2015 SY.
• In response to recent changes in the law, the Board has proposed language changes to the current collective bargaining agreement to ensure compliance with state statutes.

According to Board of Education Spokesperson, Joe Stevens, "We believe we were making good progress to address the union's top priorities including class size and working conditions.  Now that the union has declared impasse, we are waiting to receive their final proposal to resume future negotiations."  

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Source: District 300 press release