Wausau Teachers OK Contract, Maintain Health Benefits

By Anne Egan-Waukau
WEAC media relations specialist

After three hours of heavy debate and with mixed emotions, Wausau teachers voted this week (January 27, 2008) to ratify the 2007-09 contract that maintains their current health insurance plan.

“Teachers gave up 26 weeks of back pay to move forward on the agreement and will be paid a 2% increase for both the second half of this contract year and the 2008-09 contract year,” Wausau Education Association (WEA) President Mary Jarvis said.

The 695 members of WEA, who have been working without a contract since July of 2007, agreed to a lower salary increase after the district agreed to provide the same level of health benefits they had received during their 2005-07 contract, Jarvis said.

“The negotiations teams from both sides had been meeting regularly since March,” Jarvis said. “The rising cost of health insurance, the demands of state and federal mandates and limited funding were major obstacles in reaching this agreement. With the assistance of a mediator were able to reach an agreement.”

Even when negotiations became contentious, staff continued to provide a quality education to all Wausau students.

“Wausau schools have a long tradition of educational excellence, and teachers continue to work hard to keep that tradition alive because they are a dedicated and caring staff,” Jarvis said.

In October, members withdrew from volunteer activities to protest their lack of a contract, she said.

“Mixed feelings continue regarding resuming volunteer activities since they require a great deal of extra time outside of the classroom,” Jarvis said. “Teachers constantly donate their time for extra duties in addition to their classroom demands. It is up to the individual teacher to continue with volunteer activities/clubs.”

She said prep time was increased for elementary teachers in the district.

“The contract does allow for increased elementary preparation time during the school day to accommodate some of the increased curriculum and state demands and greater student needs,” Jarvis said. “We were able to get 60 minutes per week inside the school day.

“The classroom preparation is the teacher’s main professional focus and is becoming more demanding every day. Teachers continually face increased curriculum demands along with greater individual student needs,” she said.

The contract also includes a memorandum addressing coaches and other extracurricular pay, Jarvis said.

“The district, along with the coaches and teachers of extracurricular activities, will study time and other demands of these activities to arrive at a more equitable and competitive compensation,” she said.

In December, WEA members joined with the Wausau Education Support Professionals (WESP) in a rally to protest the school board’s refusal to negotiate fair contracts.

Central Wisconsin UniServ Director Larry Holtz said that since then the WESP negotiations with the district have gone into arbitration.

Posted January 31, 2007