HAMPDEN, Maine — Members of the local teachers union have issued a statement in rebuttal to a letter that the school board issued last week about contract negotiations.
In the letter, the board took the unusual step of making public key points of its final contract offer after some aspects of the negotiations were shared on social media.
The move did not sit well with teachers.
“Teachers in RSU 22 are working hard to educate the children in this community and deserve respect from the School Board,” the union said in a statement issued after the board released its letter. “We have put forward a salary structure that costs less money and will entice good teachers to stay in the area. It is time to put teaching and learning first, invest our money in the teachers who work directly with students and spend less on administrative costs.”
In the rebuttal, Education Association 22 contends that:
— The union’s contract proposal would cost $1,200 less than the board’s proposal over the three-year contract, and that it is “structured to recruit and retain teachers by boosting career earnings, using budgeted money more efficiently and effectively.”
RSU 22 teachers have said that they earn several thousand dollars a year less than their counterparts in other Bangor-area districts. That, they have said, has caused some to leave the district for higher pay.
— RSU teachers say that they already have a worse insurance plan than teachers in surrounding districts, resulting in higher out-of-pocket costs. They said the board’s proposal called for having teachers cover premium increase costs beyond 5 percent, a concession they said they are not willing to make because it would RSU 22 even less competitive.
— The board said it would scrap a controversial merit-based pay adopted by the board and the union in late 2013, which many teachers said they consider demeaning and divisive. In its letter, however, the board said it “is not willing to accept the notion teachers should receive an automatic salary step increase merely because they have worked an additional year.” To that end, the board proposed that teachers demonstrate a “proficient” standard of performance in order to advance a step on the salary scale.
Teachers, however, contend that the proposed system “ties any salary increase to the same overly complicated, convoluted and constantly changing method used to assess teachers under the current merit system. The teachers have already agreed that ineffective teachers will not receive increases. The Board proposal expands this beyond ineffective teachers and allows the Board substantial leeway to punish teachers financially under the cover of the evaluation process.”
Teachers and their allies picketed in support of local education on Saturday near Hampden Academy. Hampden Academy teacher Emily Albee, who sits on the union’s negotiating team, said Monday that roughly 100 people — including many students — turned out during the five-hour rally.
Despite about 20 negotiating sessions, the two sides have failed to agree on a three-year contract to succeed the one that expired last summer.
Negotiations now are headed for mediation, Superintendent Rick Lyons said Thursday. The first session is set for March 16.
RSU 22’s member towns are Hampden, Newburgh, Winterport and Frankfort.