Arrowhead Teachers Rally for Fair Compensation, Benefits

Arrowhead United Teachers Organization members display their signs to drivers near the district administration office. AUTO members have been working without a contract since July 2003.

In a show of solidarity during stalled contract negotiations, more than 75 members of the Arrowhead United Teachers Organization gathered outside the district's administration office Tuesday (May 18, 2004) before a meeting of the school board.

The teachers dressed in black, wore yellow buttons and carried signs with messages that read "QEOppressed," "No Teacher Left Behind," and "Got a Contract?" as school board members arrived. When the meeting began, AUTO members filed into the board's meeting room.

AUTO members have been working without a contract since July 2003, and negotiations have stalled on issues surrounding salary and health insurance.

David Conway, a member of the AUTO negotiations team, said the Arrowhead School Board is unwilling to budge from its initial offer on health insurance benefits.

The board wants the teachers to contribute $62.50 a month toward the premium for family health coverage, while the teachers want to keep their benefits at current levels, which includes no co-pay. Conway said teachers have sacrificed pay increases in the past to maintain quality health care benefits.

He said AUTO is willing to discuss a co-pay, but believes the district's offer is unfair because Arrowhead teacher salaries are lagging, and the co-pay will put them even farther behind. The district is losing quality teachers to neighboring districts where they can make up to $7,000 more, Conway said.

Fifteen years ago, Arrowhead's top salaries were ranked fifth among 45 comparable districts. In 2002-03, those salaries fell to 32nd.

Conway said his colleagues are some of the best teachers in Wisconsin. Arrowhead students have scored better than the national and state averages on the ACT college-entrance exam, and the high school graduation rate is 98.73%, one of the highest in the state.

WEAC President Stan Johnson addressed the school board members during their meeting and urged them to reach an agreement with AUTO so that everyone could get back to the business of providing Arrowhead's children with quality education. "I truly believe that every kid deserves a great school," Johnson told the board. "But great schools need quality teachers and staff."

Arrowhead North High School teacher Donna Smith also spoke to the school board. "We provide one of the best educational opportunities in the state," she said. "I don't want to watch our teachers leave for other districts for better pay."

Kathy Nelson, who teaches advanced composition at Arrowhead North, said she's frustrated and sad about the board's adversarial relationship with AUTO members. "It's going to take something dramatic to change it," she said. "That's why I'm here."

Posted May 19, 2004