Springs School Board, Teachers Settle Contract Negotiations

After two years of negotiations, a teachers contract settlement has been reached in Springs.

In a statement issued late Monday, the Springs School Board announced the new collective bargaining agreement with the Springs Teachers Association.

The teachers association ratified the memorandum of agreement, which contains changes to the expired 2005-2010 agreement. The Springs School Board accepted the agreement during a special meeting on Monday.

Kathee Burke Gonzalez, president of the Springs School Board, said she was appreciative of the staff's professionalism during the process.

Nancy Olson, a co-President of the Springs Teacher Association, said she "that she was proud of the fact that the relationship between both sides of the negotiating table remained focused and professional," according to the joint statement.

The new contract will expire in 2015.

Under the new agreement, the teachers will see an increase in the health insurance contribution of premiums to 15-percent, effective July 1, 2014, as well as a salary increase total of 3.75 percent over the life of the five year contract and 2 years without a salary increase. The teachers also agreed to defer "step increases" for 3 years and to "more rigorous professional development criteria for salary advancement, decreased insurance buyouts, and a mutual restructuring of non-teaching time," the statement said.

A tentative agreement that included salary freezes and benefit concessions totaling over half-a-million dollars in savings to the district was reached in February, as the board tackled its 2012-2013 budget process — the first under the new 2-percent tax levy cap.

At a meeting in 2011, where union leaders read an open letter to the board, Turner and co-president Nancy Olsen addressed issues such as staff cuts and asked for better communication between the union and the board.