The Garden City Telegram
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Teachers learn about proposed contract
Published 6/24/2009 in Local News : Education
By MONICA SPRINGER
An informational meeting Tuesday afternoon laid out a summary of the 2009-10 proposed contract for teachers and other classified staff of Garden City USD 457.
At the meeting, teachers, counselors and nurses were presented with information on what stayed the same in the contract and what changes were made. About 50 teachers attended the meeting at Garden City High School.
Jo Ann Mangan, head negotiator for the Garden City Educators Association, and Kathleen Whitley, head negotiator for the district and the district's financial officer, presented the information and answered questions.
Questions that were asked were mainly about two subjects: professional dress and the salary schedule.
Several teachers voiced opinions that teachers whose salaries are frozen — meaning they can't receive more money unless they start working on an advanced degree — should get paid more for being longtime employees.
Mangan and Whitley said the issue comes up every year and there's not a solution to satisfy everybody.
For example, teachers who have a bachelor's degree and 12 years of teaching experience get paid $40,739 per year under the current salary schedule and cannot make more unless they have 15 hours of coursework completed toward a master's degree.
The salary schedule from last year will remain the same under the proposed contract. Teachers whose salaries aren't frozen would receive raises for the next step on the salary schedule, and teachers whose salaries are frozen would remain the same.
A beginning teacher in the district makes a base salary of $34,239.
Another topic that Mangan and Whitley answered questions on was the definition of professional dress for teachers that is included in the proposed contract. The negotiations team added the piloted definition of professional dress and also included a progressive level of discipline regarding professional dress.
The definition of professional dress is a general statement and does not specifically address which type of clothing can or can't be worn, something that concerned some teachers.
To address that, Mangan and Whitley said that the policy didn't change and if teachers and other personnel did not have problems last school year, they shouldn't have problems with dress in the next school year.
The definition of professional dress reads: "The Board of Education encourages appropriate dress that adheres to commonly accepted standards of grooming and dress for all district employees. Appropriate professional dress demonstrates a high regard for education and the teaching profession, and will present an image consistent with job responsibilities and community values and expectations. Appropriate professional dress reflects a shared vision of the district's staff as motivated professionals working toward a common mission. In addition, it strengthens the community's perception toward the district, public schools and the teaching profession.
Professional appearance of staff members includes dress, accessories, body adornments and grooming. Clothing, shoes and accessories are clean, in good repair and promote a working and learning environment that is free from unnecessary disruption.
Professional dress is appropriate during the workday and anytime employees attend work-related activities. Attire should be appropriate for the educational activity to be engaged in that day and should also be appropriate for the role of the teacher or staff member in each activity (ex: PE teachers wearing athletic apparel). Clothing should convey a professional image by being coordinated, modest and appropriate for a classroom or educational setting."
The sentence that was cut out from last year's definition of professional dress states: "Since district staff serves as role models, teacher standards of attire should be well beyond what is expected of our students."
The proposed contract also spells out professional dress discipline in four steps: The first is a verbal warning, second is a conference with the teacher that is documented, the third is a written reprimand and the fourth is documentation in a teacher's evaluation.
Another change in the contract is health insurance. If approved, the Board of Education will increase the employee fringe to correspond with the increase in a single premium, from $490 per month to $500 per month.
There are several places in the proposed contract where language was revised. In the 403(b) wording, the language was revised to allow a teacher to participate in an employer 403(b) plan if they have retired through Kansas Public Employees Retirement System but still are working enough hours to be a KPERS eligible employee. Whitley said the district honored this in the 2008-09 school year and now is adding the language to the proposed contract.
Language also was changed in the calendar wording. The language added provides a guideline to the calendar committee that says as a general rule, student contact days should be scheduled in full day increments.
There will be one more informational meeting regarding the proposed teacher contracts at 7 p.m. Thursday at GCHS. Teachers can vote on the contract at that meeting, and they also can vote from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 30 at GCHS.
On the Web:
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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