Collaboration was key in this year's negotiating season between the Jefferson County School District and the unions representing teachers and educational support professionals, such as para-educators and bus drivers, leaders of the bargaining teams said.
On June 2, that collaboration was evident when the Jeffco school board unanimously approved contracts with the unions, giving each union compensation and benefit increases and agreeing to a five-year contract with teachers and a three-year pact with the support professionals.
"I am thankful that we had quality teams that wanted to work together to solve problems," said Jeffco Superintendent Dan McMinimee. "With both negotiating agreements we had teams who came together to solve problems, looking forward to how can we come together to make the district the best that it can be."
The past two negotiation sessions between the teachers' union and district officials were contentious, marked by mediation sessions and the threat of a strike.
But this negotiating season, the district and the unions said they wanted to work in good faith and collaborate. It took the educational support professionals a few weeks and the teachers' union about three months to reach agreement.
"We are happy to be able to work with a board of education that wants to collaborate with educators and parents and do what is best for all students in Jeffco," said John Ford, teacher and president of the Jefferson County Education Association, which represents 2,800 of the district's 4,700 teachers.
Both unions bargained strongly for more compensation, something all parties agree is still not where it needs to be, based on research and a study performed by the district's human resources team. This study showed Jeffco schools is not offering competitive contracts for educators and classified workers when compared to several neighboring districts, such as Boulder Valley, Cherry Creek, Littleton, Northglenn and Westminster. For example, a newly-hired educator with a bachelor's degree and seven years of experience would make $2,000 to $6,000 less than the above districts.
For the past two years, the district has been operating under a pay-for-performance compensation model designed by former board president Ken Witt. It raised the district's starting salary to $38,000 and gave educators raises based off their evaluation rating each year.
For the 2016-2017 school year, all educators will be transitioned to a grid-salary schedule and receive a 2.7 percent raise and one-time 2 percent stipend. Movement in the schedule is based on years of service, educational degree and effectiveness rating. Before 2014, the grid did not include the evaluation rating.
"As we begin to clean up the mess left behind by the board majority, we will continue to keep students at the center of everything we do," Ford said. "We have developed a vision for the schools our students deserve and our focus will be on making that vision a reality in our community."
The board majority of Witt, Julie Williams and John Newkirk were elected in 2013 on a conservative-focused agenda. They were successfully recalled last November after two years of policy changes and contentious initiatives, such as the pay-for-performance plan. Under their tenure, state and district statistics showed an increase in teacher turnover.
Educational support professionals --; which also include lunchroom staff, secretaries, maintenance workers and mailroom crew members --;will receive raises based on level of experience and where they're at in their careers. All will receive a 0.5 increase this fall. Jeffco Schools classified staff who received a step increase also will receive a 1.5 percent increase as a stipend in October. Contractors and those who did not receive a step increase will receive a 3.5 percent stipend in October.
"The business of school is a team effort and it's time to be making up for lost ground," said Lara Center, a paraprofessional and negotiating team member for the Jefferson County Educational Support Professional Association. "And JESPA feels with the settlement reached at the negotiating table this season we're headed in the right direction."
Board Member Susan Harmon agreed.
"You are amazing humans and you really do touch all of the students and families every day," she said to educational support professionals. "We did the best we could do with what was there and we all have heard the sacrifices you made and how much you love your jobs. And we wish we could do more than just show you with our words."
from Lakewood Sentinel - Latest Stories http://lakewoodsentinel.com/stories/Jeffco-schools-approve-new-employee-contracts,216241
No comments:
Post a Comment