Though union issues rage on in the district, the Goodrich Area Schools support staff has a finalized wage agreement.
After adjourning to executive session for the purpose of discussing the agreement, school board members and superintendent Kimberly Hart re-emerged into the community room with a unanimous decision regarding support staff wages.
As specified by the new wage agreement, playground paraprofessionals, instructional paraprofessionals, a guidance paraprofessional, the central office secretary, building secretary and tech specialists will all receive a 2 percent raise each year for four years, said Hart.
Additionally, the support staff received a 1 percent, one time, early signing bonus ‘in appreciation of their cooperation and willingness come to the table and get (the necessary steps) done,? said Hart.
Hart explained the support staff is not part of the Michigan Education Association’s labor union.
MEA representative Dianne Bregenzer said that the union represented support staff was not part of the new wage agreement, and they continue to work toward a contract.
Teachers and support staff in the district have been without a contract in the district since July, as the give and take of negotiations has slowly progressed. Issues of contention ranging from the proposed school calendar to concerns over health care benefits have resulted in the school’s remaining on the MEA’s critical list since 2005.
To assist in the ongoing negotiations, the school board unanimously approved retention of a Michigan Association of School Boards labor relations specialist, senior labor consultant John Male, at a cost of $135 per hour, plus expenses.
Hart said the board had in previous years, opted instead to pay a flat fee? which would be $10,000 this year? for the specialist, as opposed to the hourly rate.
The decision to pay by the hour is, Hart said, purely economical.
‘It’s purely an economical choice because if we settle this soon like we’re all hoping, we wouldn’t be able to get back the remainder of the $10,000,? said Hart.
For their part, the MEA has filed a formal request for a mediator to help expedite the process, said Bregenzer.
‘It was tossed around during discussion from both sides, just to speed up the bargaining process,? said Bregenzer.
Bregenzer added progress is being made in negotiations.
‘We’ve been working on a lot of language issues and I think we’ve made some progress there,? said Bregenzer.