GALESBURG, MI -- After a three-hour closed-door meeting Tuesday, the Galesburg-Augusta Community Schools Board of Education voted 6-1 to reject a tentative agreement with its teachers' union.
"It's insane," said Eric Curtiss, president of the Galesburg-Augusta Education Association. which represents the district's 70 teachers. "You never hear of this happening. . We don't understand what's going on."
While tentative contracts are occasionally voted down by union members. it's highly unusual for a school board not to ratify a contract that its administrators have negotiated, Curtiss said.
"This is just a bizarre situation," Curtiss said. "Teachers are dismayed and feel disrespected."
Teachers ratified the contract on April 25, Curtiss said.
Board President Richard Fletcher would not be reached for comment. Trustee Dian Walker was the only board member to vote in favor of approving the contract, Curtiss said.
G-A teachers have been without a contract since July 2012. "We've started negotiating this contract two years ago," Curtiss said
Al Lentz, Galesburg-Augusta interim superintendent, who was part of the adminsitrative negotiating team, said the board had some "loose ends" they want the contract to addresss.
"There's just a few things that were missed in the TA process," Lentz said. "We'll get right back to the table on Friday and work on that. . It's a process, and we'll get through it."
Lentz declined to say why board members were unhappy with the proposed pact. "I don't want to negotiate in public," he said.
Curtiss said the contract called for teachers to take a 1.5 percent cut in compensation, although that was based on a formula that takes into account fall 2014 enrollment and state aid for fiscal 2015.
"It could be more, it could be less, depending on what happens," Curtiss said about the cut in compensation.
"The big thing is that the board wanted to have a 6 percent fund balance," he said, referring to the district's reserve fund. That fund is usually measured against annual revenues. In the case of G-A, their annual budget is about $10.1 million, which means the board wants to maintain a fund balance of about $600,000.
Curtiss said he was told the tentative agreement would allow for a fund balance of about 6.1 percent.
"It doesn't make any sense at all," Curtiss said about the board's rejection. "We met all their requirements. The board wanted a pay concession and they got that.
"We're at a complete loss of what the deal is," he said. "We're very frustrated."
Julie Mack covers K-12 education and writes a column for Kalamazoo Gazette. Email her at jmack1@mlive.com, call her at 269-350-0277 or follow her on Twitter at kzjuliemack.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Cookie Settings
Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 7/1/2024).
© 2024 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us).
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local.
Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site.
YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here.
