Our MVEA negotiations team met with the MVWSD negotiating team on Wednesday, December 8th. MVEA began the day by sharing our retention presentation which we will also share with members and the Board in the next few days.
The presentation focused on the reasons why we are losing teachers in MVWSD to neighboring districts. MVEA cited research on retention that focuses on teacher preparation and support, competitive and equitable compensation and supportive teaching conditions. Following the presentation, MVEA presented our counter proposals for Article 3: Hours, Article 5: Compensation, and Article 7: Class Size.
Last week, MVEA sent you a survey on the District’s compensation proposal, which was a multi-year proposal and closed our contract until 2024. The survey showed that 92% of members rejected the district’s proposal due to two factors: 1. Not enough compensation and 2. Members want us to really address the issues on work load that have been added on the backs of teachers by MVWSD for years. Due to this, we presented our counter proposals as follows:
MVEA Article 3: Hours
MVEA Article 5: Compensation
The district asked for a caucus to gather their questions on the presentation as well as the counter proposals from MVEA. After the caucus MVWSD offered another 3 year closed contract deal.
MVEA declines to negotiate a multi year agreement that closes the contract for the next two years. We expressed that their salary proposal for 2021-22 is something MVEA would be open to but we reiterated that we are not interested in closing the contract because there are other issues that we need to discuss in full contract negotiations.
As far as Articles 3 and 7, MVEA revised our proposals for a third time. In their proposals, MVWSD, however, has not made any movement. They have not recognized any of the issues that MVEA has brought in terms of working conditions, hours, or class sizes.
Our most recent response to MVWSD’s proposal is the following: We decline negotiating past our current agreement and decline a multi year offer that closes our contract. Our previous counter stands.
MVEA requested to get a response on Article 5 next week. MVWSD said that they would check their calendars to see if they could find the time to meet with us.
We are staying hopeful that we will be able to achieve an agreement on our reopeners before the holidays.