Teachers Union Agrees to Wage Freeze

Those in a packed room at 320 Bayley-Ellard for a special meeting on the defeated school budget received some news on Friday night they may not have been expecting when Susan Beekman spoke before the Borough Council.

Beekman, who is a teacher at Torey J. Sabatini Elementary School and is involved with the negotiations the Board of Education and Madison Education Association have been having regarding next year's contract, told the council and crowd that the association had agreed to a wage freeze for the 2010-11 school year.

"A statement from all of us: we met on Wednesday night in negotiations," Beekman said. "We have agreed to a salary freeze and want to continue negotiating with the board because we believe we can find substantial savings that will benefit both the schools and community."

Of the 17 speakers on Friday night, almost all of whom received some applause of some sort, Beekman received the loudest cheers from the public.

The MEA was the fourth Madison Public Schools union to pledge to take a salary freeze. Buildings and grounds, the Madison Administrator's Association and the Madison Supervisor's Association had already agreed to the Board of Education's requested freeze.

Board of Education President Lisa Ellis said the overall negotiations are still ongoing with the MEA for this upcoming year's contract. She expressed her gratitude to the association for agreeing to the freeze.

Some members of the public took time to come to the podium and express their pleasure in front of the council and full room.

"I want to comment on the good news we just heard from Mrs. Beekman," Tom Haralampoudis said. "We really have to appreciate the teachers now for stepping up, and everybody on this staff at the Board of Education is obviously making a big effort.

"So now I think it's up to the council, because you're making a big effort too, to get together with the schools and try and make sure that nothing gets cut."

The council will have a joint meeting with the BOE at the board's next meeting on Tuesday to finalize the budget.