Poland school board and teachers agree on a new labor contract

November 21, 2016 at 9:35p.m.

POLAND

After months of negotiation, the school board has reached an agreement with the teachers’ union on a new contract.

Already ratified by the Poland Education Association, the new agreement was approved by the board at a meeting Monday night. The contract is retroactive to Sept. 1 and runs through Aug. 31, 2018.

The agreement gives teachers a 1 percent raise each year of the contract. It also stipulates that teachers contribute 10 percent of all health care costs the first year, and 10.5 percent the second year.

The agreement, which will soon be finalized with sign-offs from both entities, passed with a 4-1 vote, with board member Robert Shovlin casting the sole “no” vote — saying he believes the contract gives too much at a time when the school district is facing financial difficulties.

“We’re already spending more than we’re bringing in,” he told The Vindicator. He pointed out that the district’s most recent five-year financial forecast, reported to the board last month, shows the district spending nearly half a million more dollars than it will collect this fiscal year.

Shovlin believes that teachers should contribute a greater share of their hospitalization costs, and thinks that their step increases are adequate raises, he said.