The Juneau teachers union voted Thursday night to approve a one-year tentative contract with the school district.
The negotiation process ended earlier this month and members of the Juneau Education Association had a week to look at the tentative contract. It includes a 2 percent pay increase, a more competitive starting pay for specialist positions and compensating some teachers for extra meeting hours.
A majority of members passed the tentative contract, though JEA President Dirk Miller wouldn’t get into percentages. He said close to 180 of about 355 members voted, and that’s a good turnout.
Miller said the negotiating team did a good job of working with the district, although there were things the teachers didn’t get.
“There are lots of issues out there that will come up again. Unfortunately, they’ll come up in the next year’s negotiation because it’s only a one-year contract. So the things that the two sides were able to agree on were pretty good for students in the district, teachers and families,” Miller said.
Miller said the collaborative interest-based bargaining was a better arrangement than traditional negotiating. He said the process wasn’t contentious.
“I think our relationship with this administration is a lot more solid. I think the hope is that the path that they laid with this contract will lend itself into the next contract, so we won’t have to start from scratch and maybe they can pick up where they left off and come to a speedier resolution,” Miller said.
The negotiating process lasted nearly a year. Miller said some of the delay was due to the Alaska Legislature taking so long to pass a budget.
The contract remains tentative until the school board votes it through. It’s expected to be on the November agenda. The last contract expired June 30, but its terms remain in effect.
Miller said contract negotiations between the teachers’ union and the school district are expected to begin again in January.
