Bugg Stories vol. 5

before asking for a federal mediator newly elected school board member deidre macnab practice promotion by praising john beam down on a daily basis by metro teachers and i see in every school that i visit an incredibly high standard of excellence and professionalism a very humbling standard for me as i have that privilege to see what goes on in basements and lunchrooms in every corner of our metro schools the man called for the repair and strengthening of the relationship between teachers and school board that said that the current salary negotiations had reached a stalemate her motion for a federal mediator passed unanimously teachers filing out into the parking lot said only prolongs the process and on heels as a member of the metro nashville education associations executive committee the word citizen rights that they really help solve this thing that it was delightful so that's partly on the board let the teachers know again the nea is asking for a four percent raise the school board is offering only carry an additional two point three million

dollars system wide is what separates the two sides yet the arguments used for weeks now still apply eric youth is the president in any a which represents teachers there is indeed money they're they just won't spend it on something else so now he just needs to convince them that maybe they're parties are all metro school spokesman craig gillespie we've been accused of a furor gibberish code that this is at a time when incumbents closest was falling drizzle or tax collections and in order to put more into salary increases we have to cut somewhere else but so the question is where you know this could be classified as a traditional labor management disagreement the bad blood display during this dispute can be traced back in nineteen ninety six the nea and school board entered what was to be a collaborative salary negotiation that when been superintendent richard benjamin issued a final offer of three point two five percent teachers responded angrily and started

working only they're contractually required seven and a half hours for days later the school board agreed to a four percent hike in many a present erica we were burned so badly in collective bargaining before that i'm not sure it's just right for souring issues we could and do have some collaborative efforts with the board but whenever we get down to talking about money collaboration always draws on keeping that in mind the metro school board wrapped up negotiations with teachers early last year settling now three point five percent increase they did so before submitting an active balanced budget to the metro council it was a budget the school board said truly represented its needs met our schools' budget director john dietz decided that to balance its budget and to go in to the deliberations with the council with expenditures later in revenue you recall a gym we call the subsequent activity that a code one former board member called that

subsequent activity the day the mayor to the school board to the woodshed mayor phil bredesen chastise the board for asking for more cooperation money while he was asking the council for a property tax increase for libraries in school buildings days later the board cuts and balanced its budget the kipp teacher pay raises intact this year the board submitted a balanced budget of the council one that included only a two percent salary raise for employees effective january first the school board is frustrated by a tight budget and the money used to pay teachers comes from local sales taxes that revenue is down thanks to a drop in tourism teachers are frustrated that after seen several years of an economic boom and davidson county and being asked to do more they've seen very little money come their way and taxpayers are frustrated to show ponder is a metro councilman and the father of a veteran teacher that's right

if the mediator can get the two sides to settle the final say lies with the metal school board according to the contract and teachers say they will continue working only the seven and a half hours required by their contract for nashville public radio it's b he came to

power a nice man