Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington School Board and the Burlington Education Association, which represents unionized teachers, issued the following statement following a meeting Tuesday with a third-part mediator. The two sides signed a one-year agreement last fall after the previous contract expired in August. The agreement avoided a possible teacher strike, but not after bitter negotiations.
BEA union members and supporters at an "informational picket" September 27, 2016. BEA photo.
Joint Statement: "Today, the Burlington School Board and the Burlington Education Association entered into the mediation process. The parties negotiated for seven hours.
"During the day, the mediator met with both parties to review and discuss proposals related to compensation, health care, and operational issues.
"Although no definitive agreement was reached today, the mediator assigned both parties the task of developing alternatives to their current positions. These will be taken up on May 31st when mediation will reconvene. The parties also agreed to use the mediator as a fact-finder in the event that agreement is not reached by May 31."
Previous to the start of the mediation, the BEA said in a statement that the proposal that it will be share with the third-party mediator reiterates two critical goals: The teachers seek a contract that ensures District resources are allocated to best meet the educational needs of all students; and promotes working conditions that attract and retain the best faculty for the city’s children.
The School Board’s proposal, which has not changed since the January exchange, fails to meet the educational needs of Burlington’s students, according to BEA leaders. The Board has invoked “goals of achieving ‘operational efficiency’ and ‘fiscal sustainability,’ which are no more than euphemisms for deeper cuts to a system that has been eroding essential services to students over the last three budget cycles,” said BEA President Fran Brock.
Brock said the teachers hope that a respectful and fair contract can be hammered out without the Board again pushing the parties to the level of crisis experienced last fall.
Unresolved issues include class size; educational and programming services for Burlington’s diverse student population; language regarding appropriate and equitable elementary school workplace matters; a compensation package that ensures Burlington will attract and retain quality teachers.
“A teacher’s working condition is a child’s learning environment,” said Brock, a Burlington High School history teacher.
For its part, the Board said in a statement last week that, "The Board's proposals and its efforts in mediation continue to be guided by the overall goal of achieving a sustainable contract that will allow the District to focus on a more efficient use of resources in support of complex student needs."
The Burlington School District notified the BEA March 17 that "a state of impasse exists in contract talks for the 2017-2018 school year."
Since the BEA brought its proposals to the table on January 31, the parties have met approximately ten times in an unsuccessful effort to reach a settlement. The union proposed a total increase in new salary-related dollars of 7.74% (5.74% in direct salary plus an additional 2% salary contribution to a new retirement benefit). The District’s opening salary offer would increase salaries by 0.5%.
According to Board Chairperson Mark Porter, “The Board’s opening salary is a starting point that is much closer to the recent 4-year inflation annual trend of 1.1% than the union’s proposal. We’re willing to compromise, but given the gap between the two salary proposals, it’s clear that mediation will be needed to help the parties reach agreement.”
In addition to wages, both parties proposed numerous operational changes. The Board’s operational proposals are intended to improve the District’s ability to meet student needs by simplifying outdated and confusing contract language—often decades old—that governs the workday, teaching assignments, and similar areas, without reducing teacher compensation.
The union also brought proposals in similar operational areas that include reducing teacher-student instructional time, which the Board does not believe is in the best interest of students.
The BEA’s proposals are estimated to increase total costs by $5.3 million dollars. Funding such a proposal would require cuts to student programs, or an additional tax increase of over 9%, the Board said.
Vice-Chairperson Stephanie Seguino said before the mediation began, “The Board is very sensitive to the community’s desire that we complete negotiations before school starts in late August. To do this, we need mediation to begin as soon as possible in order to reach a quality agreement.”
Source: Burlington School Board, BEA. 4.11.2017