The Oconto Falls School Board on Wednesday adopted an employee handbook for the district’s teachers and support staff, ending its tradition of contract negotiations with employee unions. The 2014-15 school year will be the first to be governed by handbooks.
The Oconto Falls School District stuck with union contracts longer than most employers following Act 10, enacted in 2011 in Wisconsin. The measure stripped most public employees of collective bargaining rights and increased employee contributions for health insurance and retirement benefits.
As union negotiations came to an end statewide, many government bodies moved to employee handbooks to spell out policies and compensation previously negotiated in union contracts.
Superintendent Dave Polashek said the administration wanted to make a smooth transition from union contracts to an employee handbook.
“We tried to make this as painless as possible,” he said. “We value our employees.”
The employee handbook adopted by the School Board included many of the changes negotiated in previous years, according to Polashek. He said the administration and unions negotiated “a little” on the compensation package for the 2014-15 school year, and employees viewed the handbook and provided comments.
“I feel our administration and School Board did a good job,” said Jerry Moynihan, president of Oconto Falls Education Association. He said the association worked hard to maintain a positive environment for its members during the transition.
According to Carla Nielsen, president of the Oconto Falls Educational Support Personnel Association, the support staff employees are comfortable with the employee handbook.
“While a handbook does not provide the same benefits and protections of our pre-Act 10 collective bargaining agreement, we feel that some key provisions were included in the handbook because we were consulted and included in the development process,” she said.
Both predicted the employee unions will remain active; a recertification process will take place during the 2014-15 school year. Under Act 10, Wisconsin public employee unions are required to recertify every year.
The School Board, with a 4-0 vote, approved the handbooks for teachers and support staff.
Employees were granted a 1.46 percent cost-of-living wage increase. The total financial impact of the agreement has not been calculated because staff changes and budgeting are still in flux for 2014-15, according to Polashek.
The board also increased the compensation for first-year teachers.
“Keeping in mind attracting and retaining quality teachers, we have eliminated the first step … so what was previously the bottom step is now gone,” Polashek said.
A starting teacher with a bachelor’s degree will earn $33,370 under the new provision, compared to a 2013 starting salary of $31,654.
Polashek encouraged the School Board to approve the handbooks so they could be distributed to employees before the start of summer vacation.
Categories
