CSSU and teachers still negotiating

Chittenden South Supervisory Union teachers and board members appear ready to resume contract negotiations, after a third-party fact finding report was released last month.

“My hope is still to have a negotiated agreement and to have one in place as soon as possible,” said CSSU board lead negotiator Scott Cameron, a lawyer with the firm Zalinger, Cameron, and Lambek, P.C.

“We are pleased that the board today said it didn’t want to go down the road of other boards in Chittenden County that have walked away from negotiations,” Lisa Bisbee, a teacher at Williston Central School, said in a press release. “We remain committed to reaching a settlement with the boards.”

Bisbee is the lead negotiator for the Chittenden South Education Association, which represents teachers across the district. The CSSU board’s negotiating team is made up of board members from Williston, Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne and Champlain Valley Union High School.

Cameron said the board is hoping to meet with educators sometime this month.

Contract talks broke down in February, and third-party mediation in June was also unsuccessful. The negotiations then moved to the fact-finding stage, where a third party looks at what both sides want and presents recommendations.

The fact finder’s report, compiled by Albany-based arbitrator Louis Patack and released to the CSSU Board Aug. 18, recommends that teachers eligible for “step movement” on the salary schedule would move up one step, except for those already on the highest step of their salary column.

That would bring an increase of 1.3 to 1.9 percent in “new money,” which is the overall increase in teacher compensation.

The report also suggested increasing the teacher contribution to health insurance premiums to 13 percent, compared to 12 percent under the previous contract, which expired in June.

The report also recommends a one-year contract — which both sides agreed to — and suggests allowing the board to offer an option of a high deductible, lower cost health insurance program to teachers.

During the winter’s contract talks, the board asked teachers to accept a pay freeze and to pay 20 percent of their health insurance premiums.

Educators proposed new money salary increases of 6.2 to 7 percent, depending on the district, according to the report. Teachers also wanted their premium payments to remain the same.

Cameron said some board members think the recommendations are still too costly, and maintain that a salary freeze would be more appropriate.

“It appears that the fact finder certainly appreciated the economic circumstances that literally all Vermont communities are in,” Cameron said. “But I wouldn’t say that we embrace it wholeheartedly. We have some continuing concerns.”

Bisbee declined to comment on the fact finder’s recommendations, saying the educators want to negotiate in private.

“My goal moving forward is to get back to the table with the board and negotiate a contract that’s fair for teachers, fair for the community, and good for students,” Bisbee said.

If the two groups can’t find common ground, the board can impose a one-year contract. Teachers then have the right to strike. Both sides said they want to avoid that scenario.

The fact finder’s report is posted on the CSSU website, www.cssu.org, and Cameron said board members would appreciate input from community members.

“We’re trying to balance a lot of different issues and interests, and public input would really continue to help inform board members,” he said.