Union and School Board Reach Tentative Agreement on Salaries; Five‑Day Ratification Window Set

A negotiating session between the Wilson Education Association (WEIA) negotiating committee and School Board No. 7 produced a tentative agreement on multiple contract items, including salary increases, a reassignment stipend and several housekeeping changes, negotiators said during the meeting.

Under the tentative framework described at the session, year one would include a 1.5% increase to base pay and column advancement calculations that the parties said amount to roughly a 3.186% increase for step progression in many cells. Year two would provide a 0.5% base increase plus a $500 payment added to steps 12 through 22; negotiators said the CPI (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) history between the prior contract and today was used in the calculation.

The agreement as presented also includes a $500 ratification incentive for returning educators who are reassigned, intended to cover classroom materials and moving costs if a staff member is moved involuntarily after assignments are set. Board negotiators agreed to include language placing that stipend in the negotiated agreement so it would apply if the contract is ratified.

Negotiators said they had tentative agreements or clarifying language on a range of other items: changing certain insurance effective dates, increasing term‑life coverage to match current practice, removing legacy merger language, modifying sick‑leave and emergency leave language, adjusting half‑day increment language, and preserving a multi‑grade classroom compensation clause (section G) though parties acknowledged it currently has no active applications.

Two technical issues remained open and flagged for final wording in the redline that negotiators agreed to exchange promptly. First, the calculation method for the in‑house (internal) substitute pay rate: negotiators noted a district practice discrepancy where some subs were paid under a prior agreement and the district currently calculates the internal sub rate from base pay rather than converting the teacher daily rate to an hourly number. Second, while the multi‑grade compensation clause will remain in the draft, parties acknowledged it is retained for possible future use and needs clearer definition if ever applied.

On scheduling and implementation, the parties agreed to exchange a redline of the tentative agreement quickly. Once both negotiating committees sign the tentative agreement, each side would have five business days to complete internal ratification; negotiators discussed holding an assembly or meeting during that window and expected to try to finalize ratification within the five‑day period. The board indicated a senior board representative could sign on behalf of the board and the lead union negotiator would sign for WEIA.

WEIA negotiators asked for clearer contractual language to assure that when a teacher is reassigned involuntarily the district would assist with moving classroom materials; the district superintendent indicated maintenance staff would be available to help when asked, though the scope would depend on the classroom and items to be moved.

Negotiators described the session as productive and expressed mutual appreciation. The agreement remains tentative until each side completes its ratification process and the negotiators circulate the agreed redline.

The next procedural step is circulation of the redline and each party’s internal ratification vote within the five‑business‑day window; if either side votes the tentative agreement down, the stipend and other provisions would not take effect.