Teachers' union, board reach agreement

Teachers to receive .5 percent raise with step increases

Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009

Following last month's resolution between the Calvert County Board of Education and the Calvert Association of Educational Support Staff, the Calvert Education Association has reached a tentative agreement as well.

This decision was reached on Thursday and will give Calvert County public school teachers a 0.5-percent salary adjustment for all support staff for 2009-10, instead of the previously contracted 4.5 percent, CEA President Debbie Russ said.

The CEA is the union representing Calvert County teachers.

Russ also said that all eligible employees will continue to receive step increases and 30-year or more employees who are no longer eligible will receive a one-time 1.1 percent salary increase, mirroring the Calvert Association of Supervisors and Administrators agreement.

Individual insurance coverage will return to an 8 percent employee contribution level effective Sept. 4, according to a press release from CEA.

Initial salary negotiations between the Calvert County Board of Education's negotiation team and the two unions reached an impasse in May.

This occurred when Superintendent of Schools Jack Smith added 90 previously cut positions back to the budget by budgeting for teachers and education support staff personnel to have a .5 percent salary adjustment, along with step increases based on longevity.

The 90 positions had initially been cut due to decreased state funding.

According to a press release from the school board, the contract ratification meetings for CEA members will be at Calvert High School in Prince Frederick on Wednesday, Aug. 19, at 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

"We are sending information to our members so they can make informed decisions," said Russ, who called the negotiation process, "long, hard bargaining."

Russ explained that the 2009-2010 school year is the last year of CEA's three-year contract, which will be re-negotiated in November.

"We will be reviewing in detail the board's spending … I feel, as Calvert Education Association president, [a large portion of it] should be going to teachers," Russ said, continuing, "They're not going to be getting it with this contract and, personally, that's very disturbing, too."

Nonetheless, Russ said that she and her negotiating team agreed to this resolution because, "We wanted at least the same thing that the supervisors and administrators got and we got that."

She also said that because this tentative agreement was reached, CEA and the board of education will not need to formally go to impasse, in which a third party neutral mediator would be chosen to work with the teacher's union and the school system's negotiating team.

Deputy Superintendent Robin Welsh led the board's negotiating team and said coming to this decision now is not only beneficial to teachers but to the school system as a whole, as it can now focus all of its energy on preparing for the upcoming school year.

"We worked together collaboratively and I'm pleased we reached an agreement and didn't have to go to impasse," Welsh said. " … [Teachers] work very hard and we try to reimburse them for their service … we were pleased to come to this agreement."

lbuck@somdnews.com