MSEA, district agree to postpone negotiations

MAT-SU -- After meeting Thursday to negotiate the Matanuska-Susitna Educators Association contract, both MSEA and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District have agreed to postpone negotiations until the district can speak about a possible negotiation agreement with the school board.

MSEA has offered to accept the independent arbitrator's report, written based on the arbitration negotiation conducted last fall, and the district has asked if MSEA would be willing to also negotiate a third-year contract along with the two-year contract the arbitrator's report outlined.

"The board has an extreme desire for a three-year agreement," said Saul Friedman, a lawyer with Jermain Dunnagan and Owen, the law firm that represents the district.

"We think that if a two-year agreement can be reached, we can work on a third year," said George Stuart, who spoke for MSEA. Both parties agreed that a break from the negotiation process, which would occur if a third-year agreement could be met, would benefit the community, MSEA and the district.

Problems surfaced, however, when MSEA explained that they could not discuss terms of the third year until a two-year agreement was made. The district neither rejected nor accepted these terms, explaining that they needed to discuss the offer with the school board before they could accept or refuse the arbitration report without some sort of third year discussion. The district explained that the board's wishes were to have MSEA outline some of the wants and needs of a third year contract before the two-year agreement could be signed.

"This is the most crucial bargaining the district has faced," Friedman said. "If there is an agreement to be reached, I want it to be reached."

MSEA agreed.

"We came to bargain, the association doesn't want this dragging out either," Stuart said. MSEA is agreeing to the terms in the arbitrator's report, which would give a $500 increase to teachers this year and another $1,000 increase next year, but would also increase the amount teachers pay into insurance from $50 to $75 a month.

Both parties agreed to postpone the negotiations until after the school board meeting on Jan. 21; MSEA offered to begin negotiations again after the meeting.

"We will be ready to bargain Wednesday night, but no harm, no foul if after the school board meeting we can't meet," said Vince Speranza, MSEA representation from the National Education Association-Alaska, speaking to the idea that the school board meeting may drag into the night, making Thursday morning a better day to continue negotiations. Originally, negotiations were to be continued Friday morning.

Barbara Morris, the MSEA president, spoke to the Frontiersman after the meeting, and expressed her opinion on how the negotiation meeting went.

"I'm very confident that our team accepted the arbitration report, I'm disappointed that the district team doesn't have the authority to bargain," she said.

When asked to comment on Morris' statement, Kim Floyd, the district's information specialist, said, "I do not wish to comment on Ms. Morris' opinion."

The school board and the district team will meet in executive session Wednesday evening to discuss negotiations thus far. Both parties have agreed to continue negotiations once the school board has a chance to review the proposal.