BTA News from the Table
January 26, 2011
At today’s bargaining meeting, the Superintendent presented a report on the state of the district. BTA learned that 2009-10 ARRA federal funds were used to pay for the return of the three furlough days and the optional workday on Nov. 12th. The District still has approximately $2.5 million from the Federal Jobs Bill which will be used to offset layoffs, if needed, this March.
By March 15th, the District needs to present a 2nd interim report to the state and a plan to show the county that they will be fiscally solvent for the next three years. This plan proposes substantial permanent changes to the contract that must be negotiated. The District assured BTA that this plan is only for reporting purposes and still subject to negotiation. To complete this report, the District presented the following proposal.
District Proposal for Fiscal Solvency
(ONLY for County reporting purposes and still subject to negotiation)
- Permanent class size ratio of 31:1
- Suspend salary step advancement for unit members for 2011-12
- Reduce salary schedule by 2.5% for 2011-12
- Permanently eliminate 3 days from the teacher work year due to the cut in state funding for paid staff development days
- Permanently eliminate teacher stipends for bilingual translation
- No increase in the health benefits cap.
- All other provisions of the certificated collective bargaining contract remain status quo.
After lunch, BTA’s Negotiating Team returned to the table and resubmitted proposals for Articles 4, 5 and 8.
The next bargaining session is February 23, 2011.