Schools, JCTA reach contract

Jay School Corporation and Jay Classroom Teachers Association have agreed on a contract.
The two sides reached the deal last week, with Jay School Board voting Monday to approve the deal for 2016. JCTA had previously approved the contract.
South Adams School Board approved its agreement with South Adams Classroom Teachers Association last week.
“I’d like to thank JCTA,” said Jay Schools superintendent Tim Long. “I thought we had a really good negotiation session. … We appreciate your professional attitude toward the process.”
The contract for JCTA includes a $600 raise to the base salary beginning Jan. 1. Also part of the deal are increases to 1.25 percent, from the current 1 percent, of salaries contributed to the 401A and 403B retirement savings plans as well as the voluntary employee benefit association (VEBA) tax-free health reimbursement accounts.
It also places two items regarding leave in the contract rather than the handbook and makes several changes to extra-curricular positions.
Board members Mike Masters, Kristi Betts, Beth Krieg, Greg Wellman, Ron Laux and Cory Gundrum voted 6-0 to approve the deal with Mike Shannon absent.
JCTA president Paul Szymczak said the process of negotiation was complicated because of the Jay Schools budget situation, but that the result was positive.
“I think we were able to get to a place where we were both OK … which is not easy,” he said.
“But I think we got a process started where going forward we’re going to be a lot more involved in being able to figure out budget issues and where the money is allocated. We’re going to be a leaner school corporation at the end of the process, but hopefully that’ll equate to being able to take better care of the teachers too.”
Jay Schools and JCTA have reached contracts in consecutive years after coming to an impasse in 2013 that has yet to be resolved.
Both sides presented oral arguments in that case in front of Indiana Court of Appeals on Sept. 28. A decision from the court is expected sometime in November, said Szymczak.
JCTA and Jay Schools were unable to come to an agreement by the Sept. 30 deadline in 2013, leading to a fact-finder being called in to evaluate the “last best offer” from both sides. James Hoehne selected the school corporation’s offer, a decision JCTA then appealed to the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board. IEERB supported Hoehne’s decision leading to JCTA filing suit in Marion County Superior Court, which in November declined to overturn the ruling. JCTA then took its case to Indiana Court of Appeals.
The South Adams contract approved last week called for a total increase in teachers’ base salaries of $75,000, or $1,027 per teacher.
The board also decided to make all plans offered by School Employees Benefit Trust available, with South Adams Schools covering $5,984 (individual) or $15,021 (family) and the teacher responsible for the remainder of the premium.