By GARRETT SAGER
Hays Post
At Monday night’s meeting, the Hays USD 489 Board of Education ratified the 2016-17 negotiated agreement between the Hays National Education Association and the district.
In was a unanimous vote with a brief discussion, all seven board members voted to approve the bargaining agreement. The vote came nearly a week after the HNEA voted 163-22 in favor of the agreement.
Typically in work sessions, formal actions are not taken, but USD 489 Superintendent John Thissen said he wanted to bring this in front of the board just in case members wanted to act.
With the agreement, teachers salaries continue to be frozen with both vertical and horizontal movement.
At last month’s work session, where the details of the new agreement were discussed, it was brought up that fairness in pay is an issue across the board for the whole district. The freeze in the salary schedule would make it eight out of the last 11 years that USD 489 has frozen the salary schedule.
“A frozen schedule is more common than you think,” Thissen said at last month’s work session.
A change in the agreement will start new hires at a lower step in the pay scale than in years past.
“Everyone new who came into district was put at a higher level, ” Kathy Wagoner, Hays-NEA bargaining unit co-chairwoman said last month.
It was agreed at the last work session meeting of September that it is wrong that new teachers who come into the district are started out at a higher pay than those who have already been with the district for some time.
“It’s not about people coming to Hays. It’s about people staying in Hays,” Wagoner said in September. “It’s about not saying goodbye.”
At last month’s work session, Wagoner said the bargaining unit wanted new hires to come in at step six and not seven. Part of the new agreement puts the new hires at that step six, instead of step 11 as in years past.
There will be exceptions for the new hires and the steps they come in at. The exceptions fall under the hard-to-fill areas that are defined by the yearly state report.
“What’s nice about voting on this tonight is we can start sending contracts out,” said USD 489 board vice president Sarah Rankin.
Many other provisions are a part of the new agreement.
The Board of Education will continue their contract with the State of Kansas Group Health Insurance Program. The HNEA and USD 489 BOE agreed to continue the contract with the State of Kansas Non State Group Health Plans for the three-year period of 2017-19.
Changes to teachers contracts when they decide to be released from their contracts was also agreed upon.
Amounts for damages and liquidation range from the amount of $500 to $1,500 depending on when the teacher has requested to be released from his or her contract.
Teachers will continue to be entitled to all due process rights as afforded by the law, but the BOE still reserves the right to terminate a contract for unprofessional conduct, cruelty, immorality, negligence or incompetence upon written notice specifying the reasons.
The agreement became valid on the ratification date once the board approved the issue.