Fairfield teachers ask for 6 percent contract raise

The Fairfield Community Education Association is proposing a total package increase of 6 percent for the 2012-13 Master Contract between teachers and the Fairfield Community School District.

The association, with head negotiator Kevin Hosbond, presented its initial proposal for next year?s master contract to the school board Monday evening at the Administration/Curriculum/Technology Center.

The association?s proposal would increase the wages and salaries generator base from $24,285 to $25,143, add one step to each lane of the salary schedule and give teachers a step movement on the salary schedule.

The association also proposed increasing the Schedule B ?Supplemental Pay? base to equal the Schedule A wages and salaries generator base.

Hosbond told the board the total package increase of 6 percent is ?far below the goal of local bargaining units in southeast Iowa,? plus the district?s salary schedule is below those of local bargaining units in southeast Iowa.

?When inspected more closely, note that [Teacher Supplemental Salary] money has increased and is being divided between less [full-time educators],? said Hosbond. ?Insurance and IPERS have also increased, so that?s what makes the percentage look higher. Adding $858 to the base generator at minimum provides teachers with an additional $71.50 a month before taxes.?

Hosbond also told the board providing teachers with step movements on the salary scale honors their years of experience with the district by providing a minimal increase in pay.

He also explained adding one step to each lane honors the 20-or-so teachers at their maximum step, with a minimal increase in pay, also.

?Teachers at their maximum step continually receive no raise, and in some cases, a pay decrease because the district refuses to add an additional step or provide longevity pay,? he continued.

Hosbond explained the association proposed increasing the Supplemental Pay base to equal the Schedule A wages and salaries generator base to put the two schedules back in line with each other.

?Usually, they automatically match, but it was overlooked during bargaining last year,? he said.

Other proposals for the 2012-13 master contract proposed by the association include:

? Offering insurance based on contract percentages.

?The district would look more appealing to new hires by offering insurance based on contract percentages,? said Hosbond. ?As budget constraints change the amount and types of contracts offered, more half-time positions could be created, but made more difficult to fill by offering no insurance. Many schools and businesses already do offer insurance based on contract percentages for employees working less than full time.?

He reminded the board there had been an issue trying to hire a three-eighths-time teacher last year.

? Allowing employees to voluntarily donate sick-leave days to other members of the association who have exhausted their personal sick leave due to catastrophic circumstances.

?It?s a compassionate practice occurring more and more in school districts to rise to the needs of a colleague,? said Hosbond.

The association doesn?t foresee the proposed change incurring any extra cost to the district.

? Replacing ?personal business leave days? with ?personal leave days.?

Each employee would be given two personal days per year. To use a personal day, an employee would need to turn in a request to the superintendent at least five school days in advance, except in the case of an emergency. A personal leave day can?t be used before or after a school holiday or an in-service day, except in unusual circumstances. Employees can carry over one personal day to the following school year for a maximum of three in any given year.

?Time and again personal business leave has been inconsistently denied or approved at the discretion of the superintendent,? said Hosbond. ?[Fairfield Community Education Association] has evidence on file of inconsistent application of personal business leave by previous superintendents that has often led to grievance procedures, or at the very least, resentment among certified employees.?

?Furthermore,? he continued, ?current personal business leave requirements inappropriately invade the personal and private lives of certified employees. Many districts and businesses utilize ?personal leave? days that do not violate an individual?s personal freedoms and right to privacy.?

He also added there is no evidence showing employees would use personal leave days more often than the current personal business leave days.

? Granting an employee one day per death to attend the funeral of any relative or person who is of significant importance to him or her, other than those on the current list.

?Employees may have close relationships with relatives beyond the current allowable list of relatives,? Hosbond pointed out. ?Common courtesy would dictate that an employee be given the appropriate opportunity to attend the funeral of a more distance relative or person of significant importance.?

? Defining a consistent eight-hour workday for all buildings in the district.

Hosbond said some certified employees are required to work beyond the eight-hour day depending on the arrival and departure times of students. As an example, he said middle school teachers work 10 minutes longer than the eight hours each day.

?Over the course of a week, month and year, this results in a significant amount of time,? he said.

? Giving teachers a minimum of 145 minutes per week of preparation time, with recess time counting toward the minutes only when the teacher has no recess supervision duty.

?In order to settle contracts in the past, [the association] was forced to give up the language that required weekly preparation time for certified employees,? said Hosbond. ?As duties change ? and as required minutes per week rise, employees across the district face less and inequitable preparation time than before; this degrades the quality of instruction and feedback provided to the students.?

Superintendent Art Sathoff, who was working on the district?s response this morning, said the tentative plan is to present its proposal to the education association at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the A/C/T Center.

?I?m optimistic about our ability to work with the association and bargain a good contract,? he said.

After that meeting, school district and association representatives will meet in closed sessions and no information will be released to the media until a contract agreement is reached.

A master contract between the association and the district is negotiated each year.