“Members are very passionate and very upset, but we do not want to put the community through a strike.” Mat-Su teachers’ union ratifies contract.

Over the weekend, the Mat-Su Education Association (MSEA), which represents over 1,200 educators in the Mat-Su Borough, voted to approve a tentative agreement reached with the Mat-Su Borough School District (MSBSD) on July 7. The new contract was approved 72.59% to 27.41% with an 85.81% overall turnout. Only active MSEA members were eligible to cast ballots.

“I am incredibly proud of the MSEA bargaining team, and our membership for the hard work put in, to ultimately reach an agreement that is good for students and the community we serve.” said Vicki Hewitt, President of MSEA.

The MSBSD had imposed their contract on May 15, 2023, which stripped MSEA of their preferred insurer. This led to a strike authorization vote which was approved by over 90% of all bargaining unit members.

While details of the new contract have not been made available, the agreement begins to address inflation, but changes healthcare providers for MSEA from the Public Education Health Trust (PEHT) to Premera, which had been a sticking point for many who had spoken out at MSBSD school board meetings, demanding the new contract keep PEHT.

“The insurance piece is why the vote wasn’t overwhelming. A lot of people are not happy with the way this contract was imposed,” said Hewitt.

“The final negotiations were set on July 5, after the July 1 start date of the contracted new health insurance, leaving us with no option to go back to the original health insurance carrier.”

When asked why most MSEA members went ahead and voted to ratify the contract, Hewitt said it came down to the community.

“Our members are very passionate and very upset, but we do not want to put the community through a strike. This community has already been through a lot with this school board, a previous bus strike, and the changes being instituted. We care about the kids and doing the best we can for them.”

The contract approval vote has had an immediate negative impact as Hewitt reports that in the last week, the Borough has lost 3 teachers and she reports that several others have made inquiries into getting out of their contract without penalties.

With a little over 2 weeks left until the new school year starts, there are over 60 job openings posted on the MSBSD website, with nearly half of those openings for Special Education assistants, and a number of openings for certified elementary and secondary teachers throughout the district.

This agreement covers FY23-26. The union has previously been without a contract since the end of the 2022 school year.

“We’ve done our part and ratified this agreement,” said Hewitt, “now it’s up to the School Board to do their job and vote to approve the contract so we can all get back to work making sure our students have every opportunity to be successful.”

The MSBSD school board is scheduled to vote on the negotiated agreement during the regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, August 2 at 6:00 at the MSBSD Administration Building in Palmer.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Katie Stavick at katie.stavick@frontiesman.com