The Portland Board of Public Education voted unanimously at its
business meeting Tuesday, Dec. 16, to approve a new two-year agreement
with the teachers’ union. Highlights of the contract include increased
instructional time for students, more professional learning time for
teachers and a 2 percent cost-of-living salary increase in the 2015-2016
school year.
Members of the Portland Education Association (PEA)
had already voted on Dec. 15 to approve the new contract, which covers
the period running from Sept. 1, 2014 to Aug. 31, 2016.
“This
collective bargaining agreement is historic, not only for Portland but
for the state,” said Portland Public Schools Superintendent Emmanuel
Caulk. “It puts students and families first, values and invests in our
teachers and is fair to taxpayers."
The agreement freezes
salaries and step increases for the first year, with the exception of
approved lane changes, and includes a 2 percent cost-of-living increase
and step increases in the second year. Also in 2015-2016, the board’s
cost sharing of any increase in health insurance premiums will be capped
at 3 percent.
And, starting in the 2015-2016 school year,
students will gain 100 more minutes of instructional time each week.
Teachers will get an additional 180 minutes of learning/development time
weekly.
That will entail teachers working longer days – 7.5 hours instead of 6.5 hours. But teachers
will work fewer days overall in the school year –183 instead of the current 187.
The
student day will also increase, by 20 minutes each day to a 6.5-hour
day, but the overall number of days that students are in school each
year will decrease from the current 180 to 178 days. However, even
though students are in school two fewer days, they will actually gain 46
additional hoursin school over the year, a 4 percent increase over the
current year’s student hours.
Caulk noted that Portland already
is well above the state requirement that students have a minimum of 175
instructional days a year, and now has boosted student hours even more.
“The Portland Public Schools is a leader in the state with this increase
in instructional time,” he said.
School Board Chair Sarah Thompson said the district and teachers worked together to reach agreement.
“The
board is very grateful for the hard work and commitment by both
negotiating teams,” she said. “It was evident during negotiations that
both the teachers and board take great pride in being a part of the
Portland Public Schools and are committed to working collaboratively.
Our teams understood that compromise was crucial during our negotiations
and that we be fiscally responsible on behalf of our residents when
reaching an agreement.”
Thompson added, “The board values that
our teachers are dedicated to the hard work that goes into providing a
first class education to our students and knows that their students’
achievement is always their goal. We are honored to have such a
wonderful group of people working here in the Portland Public Schools.”
PEA
President Suzette Olafsen also underscored how both sides worked
together. “Educators showed their overwhelming support for the contract
agreement reached between the Portland Education Association and the
district, with an 84 percent approval vote yesterday,” she said. “This
contract continues our mutual commitment to working collaboratively to
improve student achievement while maintaining a competitive compensation
package for educators. The district recognizes the often career-long
commitment of our highly qualified educators to the children of
Portland.”
Olafsen noted that among other features of the
contract is “an expansion of the opportunity for educators to achieve
National Board Teacher Certification by providing mentors to a cohort of
teachers pursuing this distinctive certification next year.”
Data
shows a correlation between teachers having this designation and an
increase in student achievement. “Investing in our teachers is an
investment in our students,” Caulk said. “Educator effectiveness ensures
we have great teachers in every classroom.”