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| Board, teachers reach tentative agreement |
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| Monday, 07 January 2008 | |
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By Jon Tatting editor.countynews@ecm-inc.com Cambridge-Isanti teachers and school board negotiators on Friday, Jan. 4 reached a tentative contract agreement after 11 hours of negotiations with a state mediator in St. Paul. District 911 Superintendent Bruce Novak today (Monday, Jan. 7) said the proposed settlement will now be discussed between the respective memberships, who have until Jan. 15 to ratify the next two-year teachers’ contract. If an official contract cannot be ratified by then, the school district could lose out on $25 per student or over $125,000 in state funding this and perhaps part of next year. School board negotiators Dan Fosse, Phil Rodriguez and Ed Hill have been attempting to resolve a contract with teachers—belonging to Education Minnesota Cambridge-Isanti (EMCI)—since August 2007. While tentative agreements have been reached on issues regarding medical insurance and extracurricular compensation, unsettled issues recently led to state mediation at the Bureau of Mediation Services in St. Paul. A mass of frustrated teachers let their presence known over the lack of progress in contract negotiations last week at January’s school board meeting. Earlier in the day, negotiators on both sides failed to reach an agreement after an eight-hour meeting. “The intention is to reach a final, fair solution to our settlement,” said teacher spokesperson Jamie Metz, who with fellow teachers rallied outside the District Office during last week’s board meeting. As Metz last week, Novak couldn’t share any specifics about Friday’s tentative agreement, other than what he perceives as the biggest issue of concern between the board and EMCI teachers: salary schedule improvement. “Both parties made movement and found common ground, but they walked away disappointed,” said Novak, who with financial director Robyn Vosberg-Torgerson serve as liaisons to the board during contract negotiations. “It shouldn’t be a disrespectful issue. They’re good people,” the superintendent added of the process and teachers. “It’s painful to watch the friendships pitted against each other, when neither of (the groups involved) have a say on the revenue stream. “Everyone at the table wants what’s best for the students,” Novak explained. |
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