The Teachers Union’s perception of “sub-standard compensation” ¬– their members believe they are the party of the second part – is likely to be the centerpiece of this afternoon’s scheduled second round of contract talks with the management of the School District.
Union President David Mielke talked about a finding.
“There is money in the bank” to boost teacher salaries, he said, “but it is not ongoing money. This is one-time money, and (the District doesn’t) know how it ended up there.
“They keep saying ‘We are deficit spending. We are deficit spending.’
“But then, lo and behold, the savings account grows.
“That makes no sense. If your family is deficit spending, your savings account will not be growing every year.
‘How Much for Us?’
“So they have to figure out the numbers.
“What we are going to say is,” said Mr. Mielke of his 350-member union, “even though that is onetime money, you can parcel it out over several years in the form of salary increases.
“The understanding is that sooner or later, the state will step in and provide a cost-of-living increase. That will be one way you can be more competitive.”
Mr. Mielke staunchly has maintained that salaries of his teachers have been near the bottom of the County pay ladder for years, and that this encourages them to look elsewhere.
“Our challenge is to convince their team of our viewpoint, and hopefully their team can convince the School Board to spend some of that savings money on ongoing salaries.
Mielke Has Questions
“They need to do it,” Mr. Mielke said.
“We are at the point – and I think management sees this – that you can’t really maintain excellence with sub-standard compensation.
“You just can’t attract and keep people.
“We also have to figure out whether there is truth to this deficit-spending rumor. I have said it’s a phantom. They claim to be deficit-spending about $2 million a year. But if you ask them, ‘How much did they have to adjust their books upward last year when they closed them?’ – about $2½ million.
“You claim you are deficit spending, but then at the end of the year, you close your books and you’re not? And your savings account is growing?
“I can’t tell the teachers anymore, ‘There’s nothing for you.’
“The teachers need something, and the District is going to have to come up with something,” Mr. Mielke said.
