Goodrich – No agreement has been reached between the Goodrich Board of Education and the teachers? union regarding the upcoming calendar year.
Meanwhile, the community waits.
A decision on the proposal to keep all certified teachers’if the school calendar year is reduced by 14 days’is pivotal in the school programming dilemma. School programming, such as fine arts and athletics, are issues sparking recent interest in school board meetings, as well as a series of community forums.
To get discussion on the proposal rolling, the school board just needs to open the contract, says Michigan Education Association representative Dianne Bregenzer in an interview this week with The Citizen.
Opening the contract means potentially negotiating every item, said board trustee Michael Tripp in a May 11 community forum on school budget issues.
Bregenzer disagrees, citing Article XX of the 2003-2005 MEA Goodrich unit agreement, which states the agreement is ‘subject to amendment, alteration or additions, only by a subsequent written agreement between and executed by, the board and the association.?
‘Which means you can add, modify, or amend. We call it in slang terms ‘opening the contract? but you don’t have to open the whole contract.?
‘The union cannot consider accepting the proposal if the board doesn’t? open the contract, Bregenzer said.
Opening the contract over the calendar year is contrary to the advice of school attorneys, says Goodrich schools superintendent Kim Hart.
Bregenzer says the teachers? contract was recently opened to change the number of paychecks teachers? salary is distributed in each year from 22 to 26. The letter of agreement was signed May 31.
Previously, Bregenzer stated the union would not consider the proposal before reviewing the 2005-2006 budget, and questioned whether school finances were actually an issue. Although she’s not reviewed the 2005-2006 budget ‘line by line?, Bregenzer issued another statement based on previous budget years.
‘I have said Goodrich is not in crisis. That doesn’t mean I think they shouldn’t be saving or working, I just don’t believe they’re in as severe a financial crisis as they portray,? she said.
Previous school budgets are a sore spot with some parents and community members.
According to May 11 community forum minutes, one speaker criticized the lengthy school calendar year for depleting previous budgets. Four years ago,188 parents signed a petition to rid the district of additional calendar days, the speaker said.
As of June 1, 29 of the 39 teachers on the 2005-2006 layoff list have been recalled to work. School administrators have been questioned as to what position teachers fill when recalled.
‘We have to use the recall list and offer the first available opening in a building, or within a certification that the person is qualified for,? said Hart. ‘We literally go one-by-one down the recall list.?
If the union accepts the reduced calendar year proposal, would certified teachers retain their positions?
‘For the most part,? said Hart. ‘Not all sections of all classes are always offered each year, so there might be some minor changes.?
Critics allege the layoffs are an easy way for administrators to shuffle the staff, getting rid of some teachers in favor of others.
‘It never entered our minds to do that,? says Hart. ‘This is a budget issue, not a personnel issue.?
Does the union protect the position a teacher holds?
‘I don’t want the community to assume the new person in a music position can’t do the job just as well,? said Bregenzer.
Teachers don’t directly vote whether to accept or reject the calendar year proposal, said Bregenzer.
‘The bargaining team decides whether to accept the proposal, following the union bargaining process,? she said, explaining teachers? opinions are crucial in the decision.
‘We don’t do anything as a bargaining team without getting the feedback and direction of the entire association.?