By ARCHIE MOUNTAIN
NEWPORT — The Newport School Board and Newport Teachers Association have reached an impasse in contract negotiations for the 2018-19 academic year it was announced this week by Superintendent of Schools Cindy Gallagher.
The Newport School Board ratified a negotiated contract with the Newport Teachers Association (NTA) for the 2018-19 academic year and this contract failed as a warrant article in the March 2018 school district budget vote.
At the Annual Newport School District meeting on March 13, 2018, voters turned down an article, 424-382, calling for pay increases for members of the Newport Teachers Association that was budgeted at $140,382 to cover changes in salaries, benefits, health insurance and contract obligations at the current staffing level.
Another article that sought $92,311 for an increase in the support staff appropriation was also defeated, 444-328
“The failure of a community to adopt a ratified contract has a negative effect on the School District,” Gallagher stated.
“In the education profession, it is typical for a teacher to receive a year of service for each year in the profession in the form of a ‘step raise’ that provides a guaranteed raises through the collective bargaining agreement.
“In Newport, we have teachers who have gone seven years without a raise and are seven years off step and this results in low morale among the staff,” Gallagher continued.
Also this week, the Newport Teacher’s Association (NTA) issued a short press release indicating its desire to find a fiscally responsible solution. The release stated:
“The Newport Teacher’s Association (NTA), at the School Board’s request, entered into negotiations with the Board in July 2018.
“The NTA bargained in good faith and were conscious of the needs of the students, the teachers, and the community. The NTA consistently worked towards an agreement that was fair to staff and took into consideration the concerns of the citizens of Newport.
The NTA hopes to continue working with the Newport School Board to find a fiscally responsible solution,” the press release concluded.
The Newport School Board and the Newport Teachers Association reached an impasse after mediation. The next step after a declared impasse is a fact-finding process,” Gallagher stated.
The Newport School Board and NTA have set dates to move forward with this process in mid-November. The Board and the NTA are also able to continue negotiations to work an agreed resolution prior to the formal fact-finding hearing, Gallagher’s press release continued.
“The Newport School Board is committed to ratifying a contract that best meets the needs of our children, our teachers and our community,” she related.
Other concerns expressed by Gallagher in her press release follow:
“The Newport School Board has heard many of the concerns of the citizens regarding the teacher contract, including difficulty hiring beginning teachers because of low pay, concerns about teacher retention, ‘off-step salary schedules’ and health insurance premiums.
“Because of these concerns, the Newport School Board requested the opportunity to negotiate with the NTA in August, 2018. After several opportunities to negotiate and a daylong mediation, the Newport School Board and Newport Teachers Association were unable to agree upon contract terms.
“The Newport School Board presented a set of proposals that addressed all of the priority issues voiced by the Newport community and teachers alike. The Newport School Board realizes that having salaries that are not competitive with other districts in the region causes further erosion of our educational programming and services for our students.
“The Board provided a salary schedule that brought salaries in line with regional median values to entice new teachers and corrected the step concern to retain our current teachers. The Board pursued a contract that would ensure that resources were allocated in a manner to best meet the educational needs of all students. The proposal was designed to promote working conditions that would attract and then retain the best possible faculty for our children.”
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