Sumner teachers will take unpaid furlough time under a new two-year contract approved by the Sumner School Board Wednesday night.
The district and the union, the Sumner Education Association, hammered out details of the contract Sept. 16. At a ratification meeting Oct. 3, a total of 72 percent of union members present voted to accept the agreement.
Sumner Superintendent Craig Spencer praised union members.
"Our educators have a strong commitment to students and families in our district," he said in a news release. "Our students were able to start school on time while the bargaining team continued negotiations, reaching a tentative agreement that has resulted in a fair contract for teachers despite challenging budget issues."
That contrasts with what happened in Tacoma. Tacoma teachers started the school year but, after negotiations broke down, they launched a strike that kept students out of classrooms for eight days. The Tacoma strike ended only after an agreement was reached following intervention by Gov. Chris Gregoire.
Union President Hillery Berteaux said that Sumner teachers and school officials watched what happened in Tacoma.
"This was not an easy time negotiating," she said of Sumner's negotiations. "At times it was very contentious, very stressful."
But she said Sumner teachers appreciate the sacrifices made by Tacoma teachers.
"I believe they helped us in Sumner," she added.
In addition to representing teachers, the 500-member union represents counselors, librarians and other school employees who hold professional certificates.
CONTRACT DETAILS
The contract contains a set of complex provisions, much of it driven by state budget cuts to local school districts.
The state reduced allocations to local districts for teacher pay, and the cut worked out to 3.4 days of pay for Sumner teachers, district spokeswoman Ann Cook said.
A combination of stipends paid to teachers, along with two unpaid teacher furlough days, will help the district cover the funding gap.
Each teacher will receive a stipend of $258 this November and $518 next November for 1.4 days of work. The stipends were calculated based on average teacher pay, Cook said.
Berteaux said that teachers are also absorbing higher health care costs. And she said the stipends will not make up for pay lost to furloughs.
Total stipend costs are estimated at $123,000 this year and $246,000 next year. A change in contract language that governs when teachers are provided classroom aides will help cover the stipend costs, Cook said.
Instead of automatically providing aides when class size exceeds caps outlined in contracts, the district will save money in some cases by paying teachers extra instead. The district will also save money by reducing the number of overflow students who are transported outside their neighborhoods to attend school.
The new contract adds in the stipend money but doesn't change the current salary schedule, which compensates teachers based on years of experience and degrees earned. Teacher base pay and pay for added responsibilities such as leading extracurricular activities for students remains the same.
But teachers will sacrifice two days of pay through furloughs.
Teachers took one unpaid furlough day Sept. 1, before the contract was settled. That day in the past would have been a paid classroom-preparation day, Cook said.
A second furlough day will come from combining two half-days: Feb. 16 and June 20.
Feb. 16 is the Thursday before the Presidents Day break. This is a new half-day addition to the school calendar.
June 20 is the day following the last day of school. It had been scheduled as a full workday for teachers, but under the contract it is reduced to a half-day.
Two other new elements are also part of the contract:
*Sumner will institute a new teacher-evaluation instrument that will align with criteria used in pilot projects elsewhere around the state. Among the criteria: demonstrating effective teaching practices, using multiple forms of student data to modify instruction and improve learning, and communicating with parents. Each teacher will plan goals and submit evidence to show they have met their goals.
Berteaux said that the district had already begun moving in this direction, so it was not a drastic change for Sumner teachers.
* A program that rewards teachers who take on leadership tasks - everything from keeping track of resources and equipment to coordinating learning for their schools. Stipends for this work will range from $1,000 to $4,500, depending on the responsibility assumed. More than 100 teachers have already received leadership training under the plan.
"This felt like a really progressive gain for us, " Berteaux said. She said the system recognizes teachers, particularly at the elementary school level, for work that they have already been doing.
* A new system on involuntary transfers - another big issue in the Tacoma strike - will exempt new teachers in the first three years of teaching from being switched from school to school.
Berteaux said the goal is to make Sumner an attractive place to learn and to work.
SCHOOL DAYS REDUCED
Another significant change for Sumner's estimated 8,000 students is a school year that - for the first time - will drop below 180 days, to 177 days. That provision is not a formal part of the contract - it was something the district was allowed to decide on its own.
But Berteaux said union members were able to influence the number of waiver days the district decided upon.
The school district received a waiver from the state Board of Education to allow the change. The three days will be used for teacher training. In past years, the state had funded extra training days for teachers outside the 180 days, but that funding is gone.
The waiver days have been used by other districts for several years, but it's the first time for Sumner, Cook said.
"We have to have time for teachers to have full-day professional development," Cook said.
She said the decision was a difficult one for the school district, which had until now resisted using the waiver method.
She said that even though students will be in school fewer days, the district will still exceed the minimum number of instructional hours set by the state. The state minimum is 1,000 hours, and Sumner will provide 1,017 hours.
"We tried to think of ways to lessen the impact to families," Cook said. She said the goal was to make the calendar "as seamless as possible" for families.
Berteaux said the waiver day issue is a frustrating one for teachers. She said the district already provides late starts for students every Wednesday, which gives teachers time to work together. She said full-day professional development training isn't always helpful when teachers don't get to choose the training programs.
Debbie Cafazzo: 253-597-8635
debbie.cafazzo@thenewstribune.com
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.