Trenton Teachers Take Concessions with New Contract Agreement

The Trenton Education Association agreed to concessions in order to ratify a new contract with the at a special meeting Wednesday.

Teachers agreed to a two-year contract that contains concessions that will reduce salaries and increase insurance premium costs for the 2011-12 and 2013-14 school years.

Concessions include:

• A 5.8 percent reduction in salary for all teachers for the 2011-12 school year and no increase for the following school year.
• A responsibility for 21 percent of the annual insurance premiums for all teachers.
• A 5.5 percent cap increase on insurance.

The district and teachers have been negotiating a new contract for nearly two years.

Board President Dennis Bearden said the district ended up with a contract that everyone can live with and was best for the district.

TEA District Director Mark Hoffman said concessions are like eating  broccoli: You know you need it, but you still hate it.

"I'm glad we were able to work something out," Hoffman said. "It's not an easy thing to have come to. It's the only way we can bring people back."

Hoffman said the No. 1 thing learned by both sides is cooperation, including the ability for both sides to communicate effectively.

"The value that can come from cooperation is the biggest lesson of all," Hoffman said.

He said that he hopes in another year the will no longer exist and there will not be a need for concessions in the future.

Hoffman added the TEA took the concessions in order to assure that nearly all of the teachers who received pinks slips would be called back before the start of the school year.

The district will call back 13.58 full-time equivalent positions starting Thursday morning, according to Bearden.

Bearden said he is glad everyone can get back to the real focus of the district–the kids.