Milwaukee Teachers, School Board Reach Tentative Agreement
From the MTEA Sharpener
On September 2, the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association teacher
bargaining team and the school board's team reached a tentative agreement
on a two-year contract. MTEA Building Representatives will receive detailed
information at the Annual MTEA Leadership Dinner/Workshop on Wednesday,
September 9.
Prior to voting on ratification later this month, all members will
receive the text of the newly-negotiated provisions along with a comprehensive
explanation. The following summarizes the major items:
- A two-year agreement, covering 1997-98 and 1998-99.
- All schools will be empowered to select teachers to fill vacancies
for the following school year which are known by March 15. Selections
will be made without regard to seniority by an interview team consisting
of the principal (or other on-site administrator), teachers, and at
least one parent. Teachers at the school will elect the teachers for
the team, and teachers will comprise a majority of the team.
- Schools designated for reconstitution by the superintendent will
be required to develop and implement a comprehensive plan to improve
student achievement. The reconstitution process will require consensus
building among staff members, parents, and other school community
members. In addition, with a 2/3's vote of teachers, a faculty will
be able to request reconstitution for their school.
- The pension "cliff" problem has been corrected. In the
past, supplemental retirement benefits have been sharply reduced for
teachers who retire with 30 or more years of service, between the
ages of 55 and 65. As an offset to the board's cost for this improvement,
a vesting requirement of 15 years of service is being established
for teachers who first become covered by the plan on or after July
1, 1998.
- Salary raises, retroactive to July 1, 1997, consisting of:
- An across-the-board 2.5% raise for 1997-98 for all teachers,
on all salary steps and schedules.
- An across-the-board raise of at least $798 for 1998-99 on all
salary steps and schedules.
- In addition to the $798 raise, the following improvements have
been negotiated for 1998-99:
- The salary schedule minimums for the 191-day schedule, the
200-day schedule, and all other annual schedules will be increased
by a half increment step.
- An extra step will be added to the top of the MA, MA+16,
and MA+32 divisions of the 191-day schedule and to the top
of the 200-day schedule and all other annual schedules. The
value of the additional step will be equal to a half increment
for each schedule.
The negotiated salary raises are substantially more than QEO increases.
For example, if QEO raises had been imposed for 1997-98 and 1998-99,
the starting salary for a new teacher in the BA division this year would
be $24,981. Instead, the starting salary in the BA division for 1998-99
is $26,732. As another example, the top salary negotiated for 1998-99
in the MA+32 division of the 191-day schedule is $56,086, compared to
only $53,639 if a QEO increase had been imposed.
Posted September 4, 1998