Teachers Reach Tentative Agreement
Article taken from The Portsmouth Daily Times, Tuesday, October 8, 2003
MINFORD — Following a second session with a federal mediator Tuesday,
Minford School System teachers and administrators reached a tentative agreement
on a three-year labor contract.
The teachers have worked without a contract since July 31.
A cost-of-living salary increase and insurance benefits were the main sticking
points, according to Minford Educational Association President Jackie Scott.
Math teacher Martha Oberley said the agreement calls for a 3 percent raise
in each of the next three years. The teachers will vote Tuesday on whether
to ratify the contract.
“
It’s not something I’m excited about,” she said. “I’ll
vote for it because it’s enough not to strike over. But we have a
long way to go to get educated people interested in the education field.”
Superintendent Dennis Meade said he hopes the contract will be finalized
by Oct. 28. He said he was relieved an agreement was reached.
“
You always try to do what you can for the faculty,” Meade said. “But
sometimes it takes a while before you reach an understanding.”
While the two sides were meeting at the high school, about 30 teachers
sat outside the meeting room to support of the negotiating team.
“
We feel that teachers are underpaid,” Oberley said. “Like other
professions, we are professionals. We’re highly qualified professionals
and we deserve pay for highly qualified professionals.
“
When our administrators make close to three digits and we’re still
below $50,000, most of us, it’s ridiculous.”
According to payroll figures obtained from Oberley, Meade will make
$92,713 this year. The highest paid teachers will make about $46,000,
but some
teachers will make less than $30,000.
“
We love our schools and we support everything that is going on,” Oberley
said. “But we also know that we carried over a huge sum of
money from last year. There is money there to give the teachers
a raise.
“
If there were not money there, we wouldn’t be asking for it. It’s
there.”
Although there were few steps left to be taken before Tuesday’s agreement,
Barbara Day, an art teacher, said a strike was not in the immediate
plans.
“
I think we’re a long way off from a strike,” she said as the
negotiations were taking place. “That would be in the
future. There would be other things that would happen first.”
JEFF BARRON can be reached at (740) 353-3101, Ext. 236.
Story created Wednesday, October 08, 2003.