|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
News
School board approves new teachers' contract : News : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisSchool board approves new teachers' contract
| Board president abstains; union vote today
| by Lyle R. Rolfe
| 1/17/2013
|
The Oswego School District Board voted 6-0 Monday night to approve a new three-year contract with the district's teachers' union, the Oswego Education Association (OEA).
The OEA's estimated 1,100 members did not release terms of the contract pending its expected ratification today (Thursday).
Superintendent Dr. Matthew Wendt said there also was some wording in the contract that needed changing before it could be released.
After board members went into closed session to discuss the contract Monday night, they returned to open session and voted 6-0 to approve a motion "to Authorize Execution of Collective Bargaining Agreement subject to Union Ratification and Board Attorney Review."
But as of Tuesday afternoon, the actual resolution they voted on was not made public nor was the reason for Board President Bill Walsh's vote to abstain.
OEA President Darla Medernach said the union's negotiating team met with the members to discuss the changes and were to send copies of the proposed contract to the school buildings for each teacher to vote today (Thursday). Once it is ratified and approved by the members, the results of the vote will be made public, she said.
Wendt said at Monday's board meeting that both sides had agreed to a three-year contract.
He said the expected additional cost for this year (2012-13) has been included in the budget but said he could not say how much that will be until the contract is approved.
Neither side asked for any changes in benefits, he said.
The OEA was represented in the contract talks by Medernach, an eighth grade language arts instructor at Thompson Junior High; Andrew Gotelf, OEA associate president, chief negotiator and social studies instructor at Oswego High School; Laura Canvanaugh, negotiator, OEA building representative, and fine arts instructor at Oswego East High School; Jennifer Kunsch, negotiator and fine arts instructor at OHS; Elizabeth Palatine, negotiator and third grade instructor at Fox Chase Elementary School; and Paul Roberts, OEA treasurer and science instructor at OEHS.
Attorney Karl Ottosen, and board members Brent Lightfoot, Mike Scaramuzzi, and Lynn Cullick represented the district in the negotiations. (Cullick resigned from the board in December to be sworn in as a member of the Kendall County Board.)
Wendt said there are currently no outstanding contracts for the district's other three employee unions.
They include 53 members in the Oswego Educational Support Professional Association, 147 in the Oswego Custodial Maintenance Association and 184 in the Oswego Transportation Association.
Other employees include 78 members of the administrative staff who are not represented by any union.
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
