As collective bargaining bill is debated, educators hope to settle contracts

CC enters second meeting of negotiations after N-P, RRMR, North Butler have already settled

By Kate Hayden, khayden@charlescitypress.com

Iowa school districts are attempting to settle public employee contracts before collective bargaining reforms proposed at the state Capitol can be adopted.

State representatives were still debating the controversial bill on Wednesday afternoon, a day before the Charles City Community School District is to present the administration’s proposals to teaching and support staff.

Teachers in Charles City are hopeful to reach a settlement with the district before Gov. Terry Branstad signs a final collective bargaining bill into law, said Jim Lundberg, a negotiations team member with the Charles City Community Education Association.

“Collective bargaining could be dead in Iowa,” Lundberg said. “A lot of schools are getting a settlement now.”

“The majority of districts to the west of us have settled, a couple are settling either this afternoon or tomorrow,” Superintendent Dr. Dan Cox said on Wednesday. “That is different than in previous years. It’s directly related to a lot of fear of the unknown, what changes will be finalized and how will that impact the process.”

The teachers’ union made an initial proposal at the start of February, before the state proposals, and district administration has two weeks to review before responding, Dr. Cox said. The second meeting for district negotiations takes place this afternoon at the 500 North Grand building.

“The district has been interested in seeing what are the changes that are going to take place, but tomorrow would be then end of the two-week period, so we intend to meet that obligation,” Dr. Cox said. “The possibility would still remain that we could settle, pending what happens in Des Moines. It’s hard because there are so many unknowns yet.”

Negotiations were already started earlier than in previous years, and are typically not a quick process, Dr. Cox said.

“This would be a switch from that,” he added.

The initial proposal from the teachers’ union asks for a $200 base raise, and maintains the staff’s current insurance policies for a two-year contract, a change from the district’s previous one-year contracts.

“We’re looking at stability for two years until we can figure out what’s going to happen in Iowa,” Lundberg said. “For a teacher, it’s very scary if you see what’s coming out, as a public employee it’s very scary.”

The support staff’s union also asked for a two-year contract with a small pay raise, negotiation team member Jamie Meighan said.

“We would like to get it over and done,” Meighan said. “It’s a big concern and a lot of what-ifs … I just hope things work out to be acceptable to both sides. They have to do what they have to do too, that’s why we have faith in our school board.”

District administration was expecting to finalize a proposal on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, Dr. Cox said.

The state proposals have put strain on an otherwise positive system for school employees and districts, Lundberg said.

“We have a great relationship with our school board and our community,” Lundberg said. “For 40 years, we’ve had a collective bargaining agreement that’s worked for us … It’s too bad that the state legislators have put us in this position. It does cause stress with the teachers, and I’m sure it causes stress with the school board and the administration.”

“This is a historic time for us all,” Dr. Cox said. “The scope of changes that we are all experiencing is brand-new to everybody, and that has caused a lot of uneasiness to say the least. We’re all trying to sort out what’s the right path forward.”

If the teaching and support staff unions accept the district’s counter proposal, the Charles City Board of Education would have to post an attempt-to-settle agenda 24 hours in advance.

District administrations and staff at Nashua-Plainfield, North Butler and Rudd-Rockford-Marble Rock have already settled contracts, anticipating a potential change in law this week.

Nashua-Plainfield Community Schools settled negotiations with teaching staff on Monday night, much earlier than in years previously, Superintendent Randy Strabala said. That settlement keeps N-P teachers in contract for two years. District support staff have one more year in contract before negotiations are due.

“Everyone knows everyone’s motivations here. The (Iowa State Education Association) is encouraging their members to try to lock in language for multiple years,” Strabala said.

The two-year contract will give both the administration and teachers time to understand how a new state law would impact the next negotiations, Strabala said. As a superintendent, Strabala said he’s only made a multiple-year contract once before with teachers.

Strabala said it was unlikely the N-P School Board would change contracts in response to new authority from the state in future negotiations.

“I don’t anticipate with a change in Chapter 20 that the board is going to blow everything up on the existing contract,” Strabala said. “It is a culture with our employees that we value. The authority there exists, but that doesn’t mean it has to be implemented.”

North Butler Community Schools settled negotiations in the beginning of January, School Board member Liz Schroeder told the Press. Those are two-year contracts with the option of re-negotiations if the government changes health care coverage.

Charles City Press reporter Thomas Nelson contributed to this report.