NEWS FROM THE TABLE
February 23, 2011
The day started with the District clarifying that their previous proposal was to be taken seriously and was not just for County reporting purposes as it was presented in the previous bargaining session. This came as a big surprise to the BTA team because this is not what we were told at the last bargaining session.
The District provided BTA with some of their requested items of information and arrangements were made to provide the rest of the information at a later date. BTA requested a new seniority list and an update of teachers still in temporary positions assuming that some have been changed to permanent status due to attrition. The District reiterated their position that they plan no major layoffs this year.
The District continues to pressure BTA to provide all of their proposals involving cost implications yet did not provide any counters to the proposals currently on the table. BTA reminded the District that we gave them a verbal summary and the most costly item (a $2000 raise in the health benefits cap) is already on the table. BTA also stated that it is not proper for the District to dictate the pace of our proposals.
The District presented an unsigned 12-year old Side Letter regarding two professional development days would be eliminated should the funding cease to exist. The funding was cut in 2006 and the District wishes to permanently eliminate two professional development days from the calendar and salary schedule. BTA is trying to verify this letter. Without a signature it is unknown whether the Side Letter was a proposal or an agreement.
It was discussed that eliminating the Bilingual Translation credential stipend affects 14 employees for only $16,000 and would eliminate translation services to many students and parents. BTA stated that the District required employees to attain this credential as a condition of employment; therefore, the stipend should not be eliminated. We expressed our concern about whether the District expects these services to continue without compensating the employees that provide the services.
The teams discussed BTA’s previous proposals for amendments to Articles 4 and 5, which are still on the table, and BTA proposed amendments to Articles 11, 13, and 15.
We are expecting counterproposals from the District at our next bargaining session on March 4, 2011.