With budgets stretched in School District 5 and the current teachers contract in its final year, members of the teachers’ union met with representatives of the school board March 3 and 10 to work out a new labor contract for the 1998-99 and 1999-00 school years. And while little was settled by both parties, one thing was agreed to by all: the negotiations will not be concluded in the near future. “I don’t see an agreement by the end of the school year,” said Terry Palmer, president of the Kalispell NEA.“It will take several months to come to an agreement.” “The biggest obstacle (for both parties) is an unwillingness to explore new ideas,” said Jeff Minkeler, labor relations consultant to the school board. “The parties will have to work through this.” While the school board proposed a one percent pay increase each year under the new contract, the teachers proposed a three percent increase. “Salary is our number one priority,” said Palmer. “The teachers have received a very small increase in pay over the past several years.” A major problem facing the negotiators is the budget limits placed on the elementary district. Under the law, District 5 operates under two distinct districts — one encompassing the elementary schools, and the other being the high school, according to District 5 Superintendent Alan Hafer. While the high school is in no danger economically at present, the elementary schools are facing budget problems. “The decline in school district funding is a major obstacle,” said Hafer. “We have to find a way to agree on teacher pay.” In a January meeting, the school board presented 65 proposals to the teachers union and very few were agreed to by the union. Among the proposals agreed upon was eliminating the term “certificated” and replacing it with “certified.” In hopes of settling the agreements, both parties agreed to have public meetings every other Monday for the next two months. “We rejected 50 percent of their proposals,” said Palmer. “We were (at the meeting) for three hours and little was accomplished.” Debate also arose surrounding “just cause” regarding teacher dismissal. Just cause allows tenured teachers to be fired only in extreme circumstances. Under the union’s proposal, all teachers in District 5 would be protected by just cause, regardless of tenure. “What we’re asking for is just cause for every teacher,” said Palmer. “This would follow the statutes of Montana.” If no agreement is reached before next fall, the current contract will probably be extended another year rather than a strike, according to Palmer. “With the pace we’ve been going we could be back here next year,” said chief union negotiator Frank Miller at the March 3 meeting. While the three-hour meeting on March 3 solved little, Hafer believes that the meetings will lead to an eventual solution. “We’ve got a good start,” said Hafer. “I think after the meeting we’ll have to move quite quickly. We just need to keep working.” |
