School contract issues may modify consolidation plan
Bangor Daily News, January 9, 2008
(excerpt) What became apparent as regional planning committees worked through the process was that the mergers and the requirement for a unified contract would result in an equalization of salaries and benefits for teachers and support staff. But those salaries and benefits in some cases vary widely among the merging school districts. Bringing lower salaries and benefit packages up to the higher levels, planning committees said, would create significant cost increases for the new school units.
"In the best-case scenario, you bring everybody up to the best position of the several contracts," said Robert Webster, superintendent of Union 76, which includes Brooklin, Sedgwick and the Deer Isle-Stonington CSD. "That assumes that those at the best positions would be willing to freeze their benefits and salaries to allow everyone else to catch up. That’s not a terribly realistic scenario given the nature of collective bargaining."
Each of the three school districts in Union 76 now negotiates its own contract with a local bargaining unit, so the salaries and benefit packages vary. According to Webster, equalizing salaries and benefits for teachers and staff within the union, and assuming no staffing or other changes or increases, would result in a cost increase of $358,039.
(excerpt) What became apparent as regional planning committees worked through the process was that the mergers and the requirement for a unified contract would result in an equalization of salaries and benefits for teachers and support staff. But those salaries and benefits in some cases vary widely among the merging school districts. Bringing lower salaries and benefit packages up to the higher levels, planning committees said, would create significant cost increases for the new school units.
"In the best-case scenario, you bring everybody up to the best position of the several contracts," said Robert Webster, superintendent of Union 76, which includes Brooklin, Sedgwick and the Deer Isle-Stonington CSD. "That assumes that those at the best positions would be willing to freeze their benefits and salaries to allow everyone else to catch up. That’s not a terribly realistic scenario given the nature of collective bargaining."
Each of the three school districts in Union 76 now negotiates its own contract with a local bargaining unit, so the salaries and benefit packages vary. According to Webster, equalizing salaries and benefits for teachers and staff within the union, and assuming no staffing or other changes or increases, would result in a cost increase of $358,039.
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