Bargaining Update #5

We had another great turnout at our 5th session on April 9th. Thanks so much to all those who came for the first time and to those who keep coming! Your support means everything to the team and the district needs the continual reminder that they are bargaining with all of REA! Below are the takeaways from this session:

 Article 5: Employee Rights

• REA and RSD exchanged counters on evaluation cycle procedures, with RSD ultimately agreeing to maintain our original contract language protecting this process.
• REA continued to advocate for collaboration regarding curriculum and teaching materials. We achieved some goals regarding this but will continue to push for language around REA and district agreement before choosing materials, equipment and training.
• REA proposed a one-year notice for changes to instructional programs/models, with RSD suggesting a 90-day notification period. REA plans to counter this proposal in our next session with a few language changes for clarity and increased notification time.
  
  

Article 9: Teaching Hours

• RSD proposed that flexible work schedules require written approval from both building admin and HR. REA countered, advocating for admin-only approval.
• Agreement was reached on notifying staff of school hour changes three months in advance.
•  For elementary prep time, RSD proposed a plan similar to REA’s but with a change on Mondays to a 30 minute prep. REA has some work to do on this in our counter, but will only agree to these changes if RSD agrees to give members 2 late starts a month as planning days for staff.
• RSD and REA agreed on four uninterrupted hours weekly for school psychologists, but diverged on librarians' management time and pay for required after-school activities. REA aims to restore our proposed contract language on these points but change librarians' protected time to 60 minutes.
• Wellness activity release time, which was struck by RSD, was countered by REA to reinstate it. 
  
  

Article 18: Student Discipline

• A sidebar with the RSD team clarified their intent wasn’t to undermine members' rights in this article. Both parties committed to an all-day meeting on May 2nd to refine language while adhering to federal laws.
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                 Our next bargaining session is on April 23rd at 5pm in the RHS library.
REA will counter Article 5 and introduce our proposal for Article 7 (Employee Work Year). RSD will respond to Article 19 and present initial proposals for Articles 22 (Employee Compensation), 23 (Fringe Benefits), and 26 A, B & C (Student Services). Your continued support and participation are crucial as we navigate these important issues! We look forward to seeing you at the next session!