craft

Teachers sacrifice and prove SB5 is not needed

Example 86734 that SB5 is not needed comes in the form of news that Delaware teachers, through the collective bargaining process, aggreed to a no-raise contract next year.

The 330-member Delaware City Teachers Association won't get raises in base pay or increases for longevity or additional education, saving the district $340,000 in the one-year deal.

Without the pay freeze approved by teachers, six additional positions would have been eliminated, Superintendent Paul Craft said. Already, the district will lose 23 positions as part of $2.5million in cuts the board made final on Monday night. Six of those jobs probably will be cut through layoffs; the rest were through attrition.

"It's a real sacrifice and a real acknowledgment of the challenges that we face, that the teachers were willing to sign a contract to give up what has always been part of the contract," Craft said of the step and education increases.

Example 86735 that teachers continue to demonstrate sacrifice for their communities comes form Worthington

Worthington teachers agreed today to replace their contract for the 2011-12 school year with a three-year pact that would include a freeze on raises, including some step increases, which are awarded for education and experience.
[...]
"Our teachers recognize that the state budget cuts will have a devastating effect on our school district," Mark Hill, president of the Worthington Education Association, said in a statement. "We wanted to demonstrate that we want to be part of the solution."
[...]
"This agreement is unprecedented," Superintendent Melissa Conrath said in a statement. She said that Worthington teachers "want to contribute to a solution that will ensure the long-term sustainability of the district."

Under the agreement, teachers also would pick up any additional costs of health insurance in 2014. They contribute 14 percent toward their insurance premiums.

If SB5 were to pass and eliminate the ability to collectively bargain, unprecedented deals like this would not be possible. Why break what is clearly proven to be working time and time again, all across the state?