Funding, Salaries, Benefits, Bargaining - Welcome to 2010-11

Funds, Salaries, Benefits, Bargaining . . . Welcome to 2010-11

The new school year begins with the usual flourish of Genesis Day meetings and Professional Work/Professional Learning days. The district hired over 120 new teachers entering the school year - far more than was anticipated - as more veteran teacher decided to retire late during the summer. For those that took a complete break from SPS news, the district purchased and moved their administrative offices to a new KAC headquarters just east of National on St. Louis Street. You should also know that the $4.7 million capital project was financed through a lease/purchase loan that is being paid out of the operating budget - after being inexplicably omitted from the $50 million bond that passed in November.

Salaries Take a Hit

While Springfield NEA met with district bargaining teams on several occasions over the summer to hammer out a first contract for teachers, counselors and librarians - as well as a separate contract for SPS Nurses - the school board made their last unilateral, non-bargained decision regarding salaries for employees. The board met in May to discuss budget issues and approved the 2010-11 budget very late in June after witnessing an abundance of legislative dithering over school funding. Missouri continues to place itself as a contender in the "race to the bottom" in school funding nationwide, while providing all manner of tax loopholes for corporations.

With Governor Nixon cutting funds to school transportation at the last minute in order to balance the state budget, the school board was faced with still more late budget cuts - even after deciding to freeze salaries. Rather than making the cuts to transportation, as one school board member suggested, the majority of the board (5-2) decided to eliminate coverage of the 0.5% retirement increase for PSRS/PEERS . Freezing salary steps had already been decided in May, but the decision to not cover retirement increases translated to a 0.5% pay cut for SPS teachers heading into the 2010-11 school year. Again, this was the last year for the board to unilaterally approve a budget without first ratifying a bargained contract from teachers and nurses.

An Ailing Health Benefit Trust

The Health Benefit Trust (HBT), the fund that provides revenue for our self-funded health benefits programs, also became a major issue late in the spring. The fund had accumulated a $15 million cash balance just 2-3 years ago when employee dental insurance and lowered premiums were added in an attempt to bring the balance down to a sustainable level. However, through a combination of benign neglect and higher health care costs, the fund has dropped at a precipitous rate over the past two years.

Last April, the district began circulating proposals for generating cash to sustain the HBT fund. Entering August, the cash balance had fallen to $6.7 million. One district proposal would have employees pay a percentage of their premiums - an idea that SNEA staunchly opposes, given salary freezes and cuts over the past two years to already underpaid teachers. Another proposal would eliminate dental insurance, the bouncing ball of health benefits that was eliminated in 2002 and restored in 2006. Other proposals include raising the deductible and co-pay. SNEA is currently part of a joint bargaining group (nurses, custodial/maintenance, bus drivers) that is presenting counter proposals to the district. All this needs to be settled and approved by the board before open enrollment in November.

More Federal Funds to Springfield

NEA at every level - national, state and local - lobbied hard for the jobs bill that passed Congress just this month. Thanks to all SNEA members who sent emails and made calls to our Senators. While the last round of stimulus funding for education was earmarked primarily for Special Education and Title I, this federal job package is designed to help school districts undo salary cuts and freezes in order to retain quality teachers. Details of how this money will be distributed and exactly how much will land in Springfield are not available at this time, but it appears to be on the fast track for the present school year. SNEA has sent an email to Dr. Ridder expressing our interest in this process and our desire to be part of the discussion. It appears that the state funding formula will be utilized for distribution. More later.

The Bargaining Climate - Something New

As we enter this new era of bargaining, we surely must recognize the bizarre timing of this new process in Springfield, during what has become the greatest, most enduring recession in a generation. Bargaining in such a bleak economic climate does not dissuade SNEA from making meaningful proposals that will improve teacher/learning conditions in Springfield classrooms. While SNEA continues to expect the district to, at the very least, honor the teacher salary schedule (as surrounding districts have done), SNEA has presented numerous proposals to the district regarding meaningful changes to sick leave, personal leave, conference times, after school meetings and more general items, such as the definition of a work day - something that remains a mystery in SPS.

Your Involvement Is Crucial

Please plan to attend our monthly meetings to discuss these items in more detail and offer your suggestions. The next SNEA meeting is September 16. Please come and join the discussion. Every one of the issues we are currently negotiating during bargaining sessions was raised by an individual member. Your involvement in the process is crucial to successful bargaining.

That's all for now. We'll be sending out more info on bargaining, health insurance, The Springfield Learning Model, the state audit of SPS . . . all that coming up in future posts.

Good luck entering another school year. The lines are open. Call us at 869-5090, email at snea@aol.com, talk to an SNEA Executive Board Member, visit with your building rep. SNEA is here to serve its members and represent every teacher, counselor, librarian and nurse in Springfield Public Schools.

Ray Smith, President

Springfield National Education Association