Goodrich- Dressed in orange to show solidarity and holding signs, school staff and supporters marched outside Monday’s Board of Education meeting, protesting the lack of teacher contracts and other issues that continue to plague the district.
Michigan Education Association union representative Dianne Bregenzer called the protest ‘kind of spontaneous,? and said it came in response to the lack of a contract for Goodrich teachers and a calendar being imposed at the last board meeting without union consent.
The protest is ‘just to show the parents that we care about kids and put kids first,? said picketer Kelly Alford, a third grade teacher at Oaktree Elementary School.
‘All of us have put in money of our own (for educational purposes), and it just shows how dedicated the Goodrich teachers are,? said Alford.
One of the main issues is a 14 day reduction in the school year. On April 13, 2005, the Board of Education presented a proposal to the Goodrich Education Association, promising no layoffs of certified teachers if teachers agree to work 14 fewer days this past year. With a reduced calendar year, the schools could save an estimated $50,000 for each day school is not in session, say school officials. However, Bregenzer argues the loss of 14 days is the equivalent of a 7 percent reduction in pay for staff.
The calendar currently in place is tentative and is set at 186 days for teachers, 182 for students.
Tensions were heightened following an Aug. 21 decision by the school board to discontinue giving additional money to the school’s educational support staff ? which includes bus drivers? until an agreement is reached with the MEA. Superintendent Kimberly Hart said for the previous school year, the district had decided to pay bus drivers extra for circumstances such as fueling, shuttle runs and field trips. However, said Hart, these bonuses were given as part of a good faith effort as the district and former union representative AFSCME attempted to come to some agreement, which became null and void when the support staff switched unions.
Bregenzer disagreed, saying the board repudiated an agreement with the staff by rescinding the additional funds.
Hart said she had been unaware that a protest was going to take place before the meeting and negotiations were ongoing, but she expects the process of reaching an agreement to be a long one.