The Garden City Telegram
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Teachers approve contract 174-118
Published 7/3/2009 in Local News : Education
By MONICA SPRINGER
Garden City educators voted this week to approve the 2009-10 teacher contract, with 174 teachers voting for the contract and 118 teachers voting against it.
The count was finalized at about 5 p.m. Thursday.
The initial vote was held Tuesday, but at the end of the day, a majority of teachers hadn't voted, so voting was extended, according to Roy Cessna, public information coordinator for the school district.
The school district employs more than 600 teachers. Less than half of teachers in Garden City voted, likely because the vote took place during the summer, Cessna said. He added that the timing of the vote depends on how the negotiations between the two groups progress.
The GCEA and USD 457 held two informational meetings in June to inform teachers of what stayed the same and what differed in the contract.
Teachers, counselors, nurses and other certified staff also had the option of voting after the two informational meetings.
Under the proposed contract, the teachers' salary schedule from last year would remain the same. Teachers whose salaries aren't frozen on the schedule, meaning they can't receive more money unless they start working on an advanced degree, would receive raises for the next step on the salary schedule, and teachers whose salaries are frozen would remain at the same level of pay.
A beginning teacher with only a bachelor's degree would make a base salary of $34,239.
Changes in the proposed contract include adding a definition of "professional dress" and a progressive level of discipline regarding professional dress. Other changes include an increase in the employer fringe benefit payment for health insurance in 2009-10 to correspond with the increase in a single premium, from $490 to $500 per month.
Teachers at the first informational meeting in June voiced concerns mainly about professional dress and the salary schedule for educators whose contracts are frozen.
The definition of professional dress included in the contract is a general statement and does not specifically address which type of clothing can or can't be worn, something that concerned some teachers. Kathleen Whitley, head negotiator for the district, and Jo Ann Mangan, head negotiator for the GCEA, said at that meeting that teachers who did not have a problem with professional dress last year shouldn't have a problem with it this year.
Several teachers voiced opinions that teachers whose salaries are frozen should get paid more for being longtime employees. Mangan and Whitley said at the meeting in June the issue comes up every year and there's not a solution to satisfy everybody.
Whitley and Mangan said at the meeting they thought the contract they proposed to the teachers was fair.
The contract proposal will now go to the Board of Education for consideration.
On the Web:
Garden City Public Schools: www.gckschools.com.
Download the USD 457 2008-09 certified salary schedule, also proposed to be applied to the 2009-2010 school year
What do you think of the proposed contract? Talk about it at SWKTalk.com.
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