Teacher’s association asks for COLA increase
By Brandi Makuski
District officials kicked off negotiations with the teacher’s union on April 11, and met again April 25, but so far can’t agree on how to distribute the 2018-19 wage increase.
Both sides proposed an increase of 2.13 percent for the district’s roughly 530 educators; the maximum increase allowed under state law for the contract year of July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019, based on consumer price index.
The school district, represented by Superintendent Craig Gerlach, HR Director Beth Bakunowicz, board members Chris Scott and Jeff Ebel, and Tom Owens, director of business services, proposed the distribution be determined by the district itself.
Gerlach said the district’s proposal includes a $380 base wage increase for each step of the district’s salary schedule. A one-time stipend of $1,184 will be paid to employees off the salary schedule (outliers above the salary schedule’s top step, mostly those with a master’s degree), pro-rated for half-time employees.
But association representatives—Pat Leahy, SPAEA president, TJ Pharo-Kozak, Matt Jacowski, Art Greco and the group’s Wisconsin Education Association Council representative, Josh Skubal—propose the 2.13 percent increase by applied to every employee equally.
The one-time stipend isn’t equitable for the 164 employees off the salary schedule, they said, because it’s similar to a bonus, which does not build on employees’ retirement.
The groups meet again on Monday.