VIRGINA- When ISD 2142 school board members met on Oct. 26, they presumed that the new two-year teacher contract they approved was all but a done deal. But members of the district’s teachers’ union, Education Minnesota Local 1046, had other ideas, overwhelmingly rejecting the offer in their most recent contract vote. The decision will send negotiators back to the table.
“We had a tentative agreement with the teachers’ union, but when they went to vote, it did not pass,” Superintendent Reggie Engebritson informed the school board on Monday. “I am not sure why, as we have not heard from the union.”
Local 1046 President Tim Herring responded to a Timberjay email on Tuesday morning with more details.
“There was a tentative agreement in place,” Herring said. “We met with the district four times before we filed for mediation, as we felt regressive bargaining was taking place. Once the mediator was involved things went very smoothly. Our negotiations team felt the tentative agreement was the best contract we were going to be offered. However, our membership did not feel the same. The school board approved it, and the teachers voted it down. As far as sticking points, we are in the process of surveying our members to find exactly what those sticking points are.”
Herring said that the union took two votes on the contract. The first, on Oct. 27, ended in a tie. In a second vote on Nov. 3, the membership overwhelmingly rejected the offer, he said.
“It’s in our best interest to get the best contract possible for our teachers and ultimately our students,” said Herring. “If teachers feel valued and respected, it shows in their job performance as well as the students’ education. It is in the district’s best interest to be financially responsible.”
Among items negotiated in the rejected agreement was a 1.25-percent increase in salaries in the second year of the contract. A one-percent stipend would be paid to teachers on steps G through P of the salary matrix the first year. The deal would have also removed the current step for starting teacher salaries, something Engbritson said would, “allow us to offer a higher wage to attract new teachers.”
The agreement also included retirement plan enhancements, an extra personal day teachers could purchase, and increased hourly pay when teachers are asked to substitute during designated prep times.
Engebritson characterized the tone of negotiations this year as “professional,” with a willingness on both sides of the table to come up with a “fair contract.”
However, Local 1046 membership disagreed and with their rejection of the tentative agreement, negotiators will have to return to the table. “The plan is to go back to mediation,” Engebritson said. “We are working on a date that is agreeable for both groups.”
Other business
In other business, the board:
•  Approved the sale of $7,520,000 general obligation school building refunding bonds to BNY Mellon Capital Management, of Pittsburgh, Penn., in the amount of $8,115,891. The proceeds from the sale will be used to pay off early $8 million of school building bonds issued in 2014, thereby achieving debt service savings to be passed along to district taxpayers. “We are pleased with the results of the refunding bond sale bids as this will save taxpayers approximately $345,000,” Engebritson said.
•  Approved the proposed sale of the district’s seven-bay bus garage in Orr to the city of Orr for $10,000, provided that the district retains the right to use one bay for buses until such time as a bus route for Orr would be discontinued. Orr City Council members on Monday tabled the matter pending additional research, including obtaining a formal survey and assessment of the property.
•  Hired Jani Jordan as Tower-Soudan community education coordinator.
•  Hired Michelle Summerland as a paraprofessional at North Woods and Paul Kienitz as a paraprofessional at Tower-Soudan, both part-time.
•  Approved Will Kleppe as North Woods boys basketball head coach, along with assistants Jerry Chiabotti, Dan Squires, and Tom Burnett (half-stipend); Liz Cheney as North Woods girls basketball head coach, along with assistants Becca Bundy and Taneesha Dupree (half-stipend); and Paxton Goodsky as NER girls basketball head coach, assisted by Ethan Stachovich.