RCS, REA hash out tentative agreement on The Murfreesboro Post

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RCS, REA hash out tentative agreement

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By: MICHELLE WILLARD, Post Staff Writer

Posted: Friday, September 5, 2008 3:48 pm

Rutherford County Schools and the Rutherford Education Association have come to a tentative agreement concerning a new teachers’ contract.

The agreement must now be approved by both the Board of Education and REA before it becomes official.

The two parties meet Thursday night to hash out differences in demands made by the teachers’ association after negotiations had stalled over differences in teacher raises, bereavement leave and general working conditions.

Here is a list of issues agreed upon last night, provided by the Board of Education:
Bonuses for extracurricular activities are now:
- 4 percent supplement for dance,
- 2 percent supplement for middle school yearbook,
- 2 percent supplement for kindergarten-eight grade yearbook,
- 5 percent increase on local portion of certified salary schedule.

Other issues resolved were:
- Added Coordinator II index for central office administration,
- Added language to the contract that supports planning in a block schedule for high school,
- Teachers for grades 6-12 will get planning time equal to one class period or not less than 400 minutes in a two-week instructional cycle,
- One bereavement day can be used for a death of an immediate family member. (They can use existing sick/personal days as well. Teachers get 10 sick and 2 personal days per year).

The items that were successfully negotiated before last night's meeting are:
- Experience pay for career and technical education teachers,
- A differentiated pay plan that provides bonuses and tuition reimbursement for teachers in hard-to-fill subject areas,
- Limits have been placed on the number and length of after-school meetings that teachers are required to attend,
- An increase in the number of days allowed for teachers to file a grievance,
- An extra month is now allowed for deduction of dues to the REA,
- In-service credit now will be given to teachers who serve on the TCSPP (school improvement plan) teams at their school,
Improved procedures have been set for the maintenance of personnel files,
- $1,500 advance on pay for new teachers, because new teachers don't receive first check until September each year,
- New language about student discipline is now included in the contract,
- Increased professional development days allocated to school now allows a total of 1,000 hours per year,
- No increase in insurance premiums.

Tagged under RCS

Member Opinions:

By: LawDog on 9/6/08
Great for the teachers / coaches!!!!! To bad that the rest of the employees of the county only got 1% raise in a year with 5% inflation.