School board, teachers continue salary negotiations
By Brenda L. Shelkey
Negotiations can be a long drawn out process for Underwood School Board and the Underwood Education Association. This year has been more so in some ways since the process was waiting on the decision-making process of the 2009 Legislature. Once the legislature determined the funding for public schools, things began to move forward. On May 12, the first negotiation meeting was held in order to set the ground rules and allow the UAE to make their first proposal. Members of the negotiations committee are Sue Trautman, Brad Landenberger and Tania Eichhorst for the school board, and Cathy Sheldon and Heidi Quinn for the UEA. Trautman and Quinn are co-chairs for the proceedings. The UEA presented a proposal covering seven areas including professional compensation for further professional education, changes in personal leave, adjustments for insurance and health benefits, salary schedule adjustments, changes to the in-service training program, establishing extra-curricular compensation and positions, and a miscellaneous category for other compensation. During the June 16 meeting, board members offered the UEA 70 percent of the new monies funded by the state legislature in the amount of approximately $50,000. They asked the UEA team where they would like the majority of the funds to be allocated.
