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By Terry Lawler
When Berlin Education Association President Tim Cox stood before the school board in October and asked it to pass a resolution supporting repeal of the Qualified Economic Offer law and school district revenue caps, the response was anything but enthusiastic.
As soon as he finished, board members moved right to the next item of business without even commenting on his request.
“I said to them, ‘Is that it?’
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Tim Cox |
“And then I vowed to return to the November meeting and make the request again, and I will continue to do so until they acknowledge the issue,” Cox said.
Berlin teachers are committed to Level II participation in the Great Schools Statewide Action Plan, and one of the coordinated activities of the plan is to ask the school board to pass such a resolution.
The overall goals of the Great Schools Statewide Action Plan are to achieve a revised system of school funding that ensures that every child has access to an adequately funded public education, and a fair collective bargaining law for teachers and education support professionals.
Berlin teachers have been disturbed by budget cuts over the past two years that are making it increasingly difficult to maintain great schools for everyone:
Berlin teachers are using their participation in the Great Schools Statewide Action Plan not only to draw attention to these and other problems, but to demonstrate solidarity with teachers throughout the state.
Berlin teachers held their I See Red Day October 20 because parent conferences were October 15. Activities included a visit to the school board meeting that night.
“We wore our shirts again on October 27,” Cox said, adding that about 70% of the teachers wore red that day and participation would have been higher except that some of the elementary teachers were in Halloween costumes. In addition, the BEA and Three Rivers United Educators purchased shirts for the education support professionals, who have been negotiating their initial contract since 2001.
BEA members know from past experience that unity and persistence pay off. In 2000, they succeeded in convincing the school board that they deserved good pay raises.
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Don Demick |
Cox and Don Demick, BEA’s chief negotiator, said that four years ago the Berlin pay scale was abysmally low.
“The board’s source of information kept telling them that Berlin’s pay scale compared favorably with those of other districts in their conference,” Demick said. That perception changed at an October 2000 meeting when board members were “overwhelmed to find so many unhappy teachers,” said Demick.
“We were at the low end for salaries in our conference, and our conference average was well below the state average,” Demick said. Over the past four years, wages and benefits crept up, although they are still well behind state averages.
“Our meeting of four years ago changed the dynamics of the district,” Demick said. “That watershed meeting of 2000 destroyed the old way of thinking in this district.”
Now, both men hope the BEA’s continued participation in the Action Plan will build off that success by helping teachers progress further, improving overall school funding and ultimately maintaining great schools for every child in the community.
Members Only Great Schools Statewide Action Plan Resource page
Posted November 19, 2004