By the Gazette-Times | Posted: Wednesday, June 3, 2009 12:00 am
The Board of Trustees of Philomath School District 17J and the Philomath Education Association, which represents teachers, began negotiations on May 26 for a successor agreement to the 2007-09 collective bargaining agreement.
The two groups will meet again today from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Philomath High School library. Other sessions are scheduled for the same time on June 16 and 23.
Superintendent Peter Tuana said initial proposals for both the school district and association were primarily focused on salary, insurance benefits and teachers' work years. The school district presented additional items, including changes to grievance procedures, layoff/recall procedures, a sick leave bank and early retirement.
Tuana said the district has challenging budget issues because of declining enrollment coupled with an unprecedented decrease in the current year's state funding. He said future 2009-10 state funding projections fall far short of the necessary amounts needed to maintain quality educational programs.
"Nevertheless, based on the initial proposals the board is very optimistic we will be able to reach a settlement soon," Tuana said.