Negotiations begin for master contract

Fairfield Community Education Association, the teachers? union, and the school district have opened negotiations for a master contract.

The current contract, negotiated two years ago, expires at the end of this fiscal year, in June.

The school board met early today to offer the district?s first proposal.

?The tone was good, and we have a few dates lined up for our closed session bargaining,? said Superintendent Art Sathoff.

FCEA gave its initial proposal to the district last week.

Monday, Fairfield High School teacher and lead negotiator Kevin Hosbond, sent this reply to questions from The Ledger.

?The initial proposal is based on local needs gathered through surveying our membership,? Hosbond said.

?Other parts of the proposal are based on statewide trends or goals from the Iowa State Education Association. Still others come from the Iowa Code if laws have changed or been instituted since we last opened contracts.?

Hosbond said he could not point out a specific ?most important? part of the FCEA?s proposal because that would affect negotiations at the table.

?I will say that FCEA has consistently settled below the average total package increase percentages based on statewide numbers,? he said. ?At this moment I haven?t heard any averages from settlements around the state this year.?

The FCEA?s initial proposal was a one-year master contract.

The last contract was the first time the district and union had agreed to a two-year master contract.

Today?s initial proposal from the district asked for another two-year contract.

The district also is proposing to eliminate the following language from the contract about holidays: ?Spring break shall be five days beginning on the Monday following the end of third quarter.?

The FCEA asked for a pay step movement for all staff and increase the generator base to $25,500.

The district?s offer proposes step movement of a total salary package increase of 1.85 percent (including IPERS and medical insurance increase) for 2014-15; and a 1.98 percent increase in 2015-16.

In a worksheet provided by the district, the total amount of pay packages for all district teachers was $8,435,249 this fiscal year. The district?s initial proposal for 2014-15 would be a total of $8,591,115; and for 2015-16, it would be $8,761,030.

Two years ago, the teachers? union?s initial proposal asked for a 6 percent salary and benefits increase in contracts for the 2012-13 year. The district countered with an offer of a 1.23 percent total package increase.

The current contract settled two years ago on an overall wage and benefits package of a 3 percent increase for school year 2012-13, at a cost of $249,102; and a 3.04 percent increase in 2013-14.

The state average in 2012 was a 3.702 percent increase for 10 districts of comparable size to Fairfield, ranging from 2.99 percent to 4.22 percent, Sathoff had said.

In May 2012, when approving the first-ever two-year contract, Sathoff had said, ?We are recognizing longevity for the first time. Teachers who have been working in the district a long time and have maxed-out on the pay scale steps didn?t see any movement year to year. It?s really a minimal longevity pay, a drop in the bucket compared to some districts.?