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NEWTOWN SCHOOL DISPUTE

BOARD OF EDUCATION'S POSITION You, along with the other members of your team, constitute the whole of the Newtown Board of Education. You are to select one or more of your members to serve as chief negotiator(s) representing your side in contract negotiations with the Newtown Teachers' Association. Members of your team not designated as chief negotiator(s) may function in any capacity that the team decides upon. The previous contract with the Teachers' Association has expired. It is now the beginning of the school year and, as a result of various pressures, the teachers have agreed to return to work on a day-to-day basis, with the reservation that they may call a strike at any time as long as the contract is not finalized. Your responsibility as far as the Board is concerned, is to conclude an agreement with the Teachers' Association to avert a strike. However, the teachers are not fully informed of just how important it is to you to conclude an agreement. In order to conclude an agreement, you feel that you have to minimize concessions, reduce staff, obtain an increase in teachers' workload, and retain your prerogatives to make final decisions wherever possible. The Board has been informed privately that if it cannot succeed in preventing a strike and finalizing a contract at minimal cost, the community may withdraw its support of the Board and ask for your resignation. All members of the Board, however, wish to retain their positions on it. Also, the Board has discretionary power to transfer funds among budgetary categories if the need arises. The Board and the Association have negotiated an in-principle agreement on a salary increase of 2% per annum. This amount is 0.5% above official estimates of the increase in the cost of living in the local area and therefore is seen as a ‘moderate’ wage outcome for both sides. However, a number of more ‘difficult’ issues remain unsettled and fall into four general categories: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Reduction in staff Work load Evaluation of teachers Benefits

These general categories are ranked in order of importance to the Board. The Board's position on specific issues within these categories is spelled out below. 1. 1.1

. The Board wants the following: System-wide reduction in staff as deemed necessary by the Board. The Board wishes to retain as much control as possible over layoffs, but may provide opportunities for the Teachers' Association to make informal recommendations of various kinds.

1.2

1.3 1.4 1.5

Final decisions about layoffs of individual teachers, as well as quotas within schools and/or grade levels, should remain with the Board. The Board wishes to retain as much control as possible, but may offer mechanisms enabling the Teachers' Association to voice its views. Layoffs to become effective 20 working days after contract is finalized. The Board wishes to expedite layoffs as quickly as possible, but has some room to negotiate on this issue. Notification of layoff to affected teachers to be made not earlier than 10 working days prior to layoff date. The Board wishes to minimize notification period. However, the Board feels that there is some room to negotiate on this issue. Members of the Board are generally resistant to hearing grievances from individual teachers who have been laid off. However, the Board is willing to accept an informal review procedure as long as it minimizes time investment and permits retention of final discretionary power by the Board.

In general, the Board wishes to reduce teaching staff in order to absorb part of the overall budget decrease. It also hopes to partially cover increased costs that would result from finalization of the contract presently being negotiated through such layoffs. 2. 2.1

2.2

2.3 2.4

2.5

. The Board wants the following: Pupil/teacher ratio: The Board wants an increase in the system-wide ratio from its current level of 32, to approximately 35. Although there is some flexibility on this issue, the Board feels it important for budgetary reasons to come as close to 35 as possible. Workday: The Board wants an increase in the length of the present workday from seven hours, five minutes, to a full eight hours. The shorter workday was agreed to in better times when the budget was able to tolerate it. Now, the Board feels that it wants the time "returned." "Prep" time: The Board wants elimination of the 50-minute prep time period given to each teacher each workday (one period per day.) Same reasons as in 2.2. "Duty-free" time: In the previous contract, the teachers made a concession to the Board that called for a reduction in their 1-hour lunch period, to a 50-minute period. Furthermore, the teachers also agreed to divide this 50-minute period into two parts: 25 minutes for lunch, per se, and 25 minutes of "duty-free" time. The Board wants elimination of duty-free time given to each teacher, each workday. This amounts to 25 minutes per day. Same reasons as in 2.2. Emergency assignments and general obligations: The Board wants discretionary power to assign teachers to activities during the 75 minutes gained from 2.3 and 2.4 above. These activities include emergency substitute fill-in; bus duty; hall duty; disciplinary duty and committee service. Also, the Board wants to assign teachers to monitor and chaperon after-school athletic and social activities.

In general, the Board wishes to increase teachers' workload so as to regain coverage lost by layoffs and budget cuts while at the same time minimizing costs. 3.

. The Board wants to hire its own consultant to develop a systematic evaluation procedure. It wishes to use these evaluations as aids in each of the following areas:

a. Determination of pay increases. b. Assignment of teachers to schools and classes. c. Granting of tenure. d. Removal of teachers. 3.1 3.2

3.3

The Board feels that evaluation is a legitimate management activity and that the Teachers' Association should provide only advisory assistance, if and when asked, regarding the design and execution of the evaluations. The Board does not want these evaluations to be freely available to teachers, due to the confidential nature of the material included and the notes likely to have been made by supervisors. Instead, the Board is willing to provide limited access through a procedure in which a teacher's supervisor, principal, or assistant principal outlines the contents to individual teachers. Here, the Board wishes to retain discretion as to information revealed to individual teachers. The Board is seeking "unannounced visitations" to classrooms for purposes of conducting observations as part of the evaluation procedure. The Board wishes to be unrestricted in its freedom to conduct these observations, but is prepared to accept scheduled visitations.

4.

. During this time of severe budgetary curtailment the Board wants to minimize expenditures for benefits. This includes their direct costs (such as claims reimbursement), as well as costs for administering such programs that would be incurred by the school system.

4.1

Accumulated sick leave upon severance: The Board wishes to minimize such expenditures. Bereavement leave: The Board is willing to go up to two days' bereavement leave in the case of the death of a member of the teacher's immediate family (spouse or children). Civic duty leave: The Board is willing to grant salary for jury duty only. The Board also wishes to deduct the amount received for jury duty from a teacher's regular daily rate of pay. Childbirth leave: The Board is seeking to limit childbirth leave to up to 6 weeks leave. In addition, the Board prefers that childbirth leave be included in teachers' total sick-leave benefits.

4.2 4.3 4.4

NEWTOWN SCHOOL DISPUTE

TEACHERS' ASSOCIATION POSITION You and your teammates are the bargaining team for the Newtown Teachers' Association. You are to select one or more of your members to serve as chief negotiator(s) representing your side in contract negotiations with the Newtown School District. Members of your team not designated as chief negotiator(s) may function in any capacity that the team decides upon. The previous contract with the school district has expired. It is now the opening day of the school year. As a result of various community pressures, the Teachers' Association has agreed to return to work on a day-to-day basis, with the provision that it is free to call a strike at any time as long as the contract is not finalized. In this regard, the bargaining team has considered several options ranging from a system-wide strike to a variety of more limited actions. You represent 95 percent of the teachers in the Newtown system. Information available to you indicates that a majority of the membership prefers to conclude an agreement but is willing, if necessary, to engage in a strike action. The remainder of the membership is split, in that one subgroup wants to avoid any strike, while a second group is pressing to call one immediately. You, along with the other members of your team, prefer to conclude a contract rather than strike, but you are ready to do the latter if necessary. You are aware of increasing community pressure on your association and on the school board to conclude an agreement in order to avert a closing of the schools. The Teachers' Association membership is aware of the budget cuts being imposed on the district. However, it has certain demands that it feels are justified and reasonable in light of the increased cost of living and recent gains received by Teachers' Associations in neighboring communities. In general, the bargaining team wants to avoid a situation where the Teachers' Association loses benefits that have been gained over the past several years. In this connection, it is felt that the Board of Education is essentially trying to reduce staff and, at the same time, obtain a considerable increase in teachers' work load in order to meet externally imposed budgetary reductions. You feel that the Board is attempting to pass the burden of the budget cuts along to teachers rather than apportioning them in an equitable manner. Many teachers are willing to share some responsibility in the cutting of the budget and are willing to make a reasonable contribution to this end. A sizeable portion of the membership is willing to accept an increase in workload, provided that the increases are reasonable and that they have some choice as to how this would be accomplished. However, it is felt that the Board is asking teachers to incur most of the costs, make most of the sacrifices and seeking to retain its prerogative to make all decisions in these matters. The Board and the Association have negotiated an in-principle agreement on a salary increase of 2% per annum. This amount is 0.5% above official estimates of the increase in the cost of living in the local area and therefore is seen as a ‘moderate’ wage outcome for both sides. However, a number of more ‘difficult’ issues remain unsettled and fall into four general categories: 1. Evaluation of teachers

2. Reduction in staff 3. Work load 4. Benefits These general categories are ranked (above) in order of importance to the teachers. The bargaining team's position on specific issues within these categories is spelled out below. 1.

. The bargaining team has information indicating that the School Board is about to hire a consultant to develop a systematic evaluation procedure to be used by the Board in determining individual teachers' salary increases and assignments to specific schools and duties. The Board also wants to use these evaluations in making decisions pertaining to the granting of tenure and teacher layoffs. The membership is wary of this approach. Instead, teachers want the following:

1.1

Representation in the design and execution of teacher evaluations with particular reference to the specification of performance criteria and rules concerning the conditions under which such evaluations will be made. Access by individual teachers to any and all evaluation data obtained and on file. The opportunity to challenge, through a specified procedure, any data or entries felt by individual teachers to be inappropriate, inaccurate or otherwise damaging to them, and to have such entries expunged.

1.2 1.3

In general, the teachers want an explicit agreement, incorporating their input, spelling out the content of teacher evaluations, the procedures to be followed in obtaining such data and their use by the Board In the areas of teacher salary, school assignments, tenure, and staffing. 2. 2.1

2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5

The Teachers' Association wants the following: Minimal and selective reductions in staff, offset wherever possible by activating early retirements, using teachers to fill administrative positions that are currently vacant and using laid-off teachers to fill vacancies created by teachers on both long and short-term leave. Layoffs to be jointly determined on a case-by-case basis by representatives of the Teachers' Association and the Board of Education. Layoffs to become effective on the last day of the present school term. Written notification of layoff to affected teachers at least 60 days prior to layoff date. Right to dispute layoff of individual teachers by meeting and conferring with the Board in order to resolve such differences. Where disputes cannot be resolved in this manner, case to be submitted to an arbitrator whose decision would be binding on both sides. In the event of a reversal of layoff resulting from either procedure, the reinstated teacher would receive full salary for any period on layoff status.

In general, the teachers want to minimize layoffs through placement of teachers in existing administrative vacancies, activation of early retirements and the use of laid-off teachers as substitutes for those on leave. Also, representation in layoff decisions, maximization of forewarning to affected teachers, and a procedure permitting challenges

of Board layoff decisions are wanted. Within these overall membership preferences, however, the bargaining team recognizes a need to remain flexible in order to make trade-offs wherever necessary. 3. Wo

. The bargaining team has information indicating that the membership, though somewhat divided, wants the following:

3.1

Pupil/teacher ratio (average class size): The present system-wide ratio is approximately 32:1. However, this figure is an average, encompassing some smaller and some larger classes. The membership wants to hold the ratio at its present level, but might be willing to accept an increase in certain types of classes in exchange for concessions on other priority issues. Workday: The present workday, as established in previous contracts, is seven hours and five minutes. Although there are strong feelings in the membership against any formal increase, the bargaining team feels that it might agree to certain limited increases, particularly where individual teachers voluntarily agree to assume additional responsibilities on an ad hoc basis. The bargaining team wishes to use this option as a lever to gain concessions on other priority issues. "Prep" time: Teachers currently have a 50-minute "prep" time period each workday. Much of the membership feels rather strongly about retaining this period "as is" but the bargaining team feels that it might be able to offer a nominal reduction on a rotational or otherwise "shared" basis. The bargaining team feels that any concession on this issue should yield appropriate concessions in return. Duty-free time: In the previous contract, the teachers made a concession to the Board which called for a reduction in their 1-hour lunch period, to a 50-minute period. Furthermore, the teachers also agreed to divide this 50-minute period into two parts: 25 minutes for lunch, per se, and 25 minutes of "duty-free" time. The teachers are adamantly opposed to any demands made by the Board for additional service during the 25-minute "duty-free" period. Emergency assignments and general obligations: The teachers are opposed to giving the Board discretionary power to assign teachers to various duties during their daily "prep" time or "duty-free" time periods. Such assignments would include emergency substitute fill-in, bus duty, hall duty, disciplinary duty, committee service, and duties involving the monitoring and/or chaperoning of after-school athletic and social events. The bargaining team feels that it can design schemes filling some of these needs, provided that:

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

a) Decisions pertaining to such assignments are made jointly by representatives of the Teachers' Association and the Board. b) Such assignments are rotated in order to both minimize and equalize such service. c) When possible, individual teachers have choice in the duties to which they are assigned. The bargaining team is willing to make such proposals in exchange for concessions on other priority issues. In general, the teachers are willing to make certain concessions on workload, provided that assignments are not made arbitrarily by the Board and that any increases are kept to a minimum and are distributed equitably. 4.

. The Teachers' Association wants the following:

4.1

4.2

4.3

4.4

Accumulated sick leave upon severance: In light of the fact that teachers in most surrounding communities receive payment for unused sick leave upon severance, the Newtown membership feels it too is entitled to such benefits. However, the bargaining team believes that various formulas can be devised that might be acceptable to the membership if concessions on other priority issues were forthcoming from the Board. These might include a percentage of accumulated sick leave, payments keyed to years of service, reasons for severance, and so on. The bargaining team also sees possibilities of phasing in such benefits over several years. Bereavement leave: According to a poll taken by the bargaining team, the membership is seeking up to five days of paid leave in the event of death of an immediate member of a teacher's family, including spouse, children, and parents. Also sought are two-day bereavement leaves in the event of the death of a spouse's parent. However, the results of the poll indicate that these preferences are somewhat flexible. Civic duty leave: The membership has indicated that it wants full pay from the school district while serving on jury duty, without deductions for any pay received as a result of such duty. However, the bargaining team's information suggests that the membership could be induced to accept a formula in which any pay received for performing civic duty would be deducted from regular pay, as long as teachers incur no less pay as a result of such service to the community. The bargaining team feels that such an agreement would only be appropriate if the Board is willing to meet salary demands satisfactorily. Childbirth leave: The membership wants 8 weeks for childbirth leave. A number of teachers also want childbirth leave benefits to be independent of sick leave taken for other reasons. However, the bargaining team feels that trade-offs might be made on this issue in exchange for salary and/or reduction in staff concessions. The bargaining team feels it can develop proposals tying childbirth leave to specific workload issues so as to reduce the overall costs of such leaves to the system....