The highly anticipated contract negotiations between teachers and the Paris School District are set to get started Wednesday.
The School Board and representatives of the teachers union will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the school. The agenda calls for both sides to exchange initial proposals and set a next meeting date. A closed session to discuss compensation is then scheduled.
No public comment will be taken at the meeting, district administrator Roger Gahart said. He elaborated in an email message to westofthei.com:
This is not a regular Board meeting. The purpose of this meeting is the exchange of proposals between the Board negotiators and the Teachers’ Union, as well as the setting of the next meeting date. The intention is to conduct this business. Our Board, legal counsel, and community will be seeing the Union’s proposal for the first time on Wednesday. Public comments will be heard by the Board at the next regular monthly Board meeting which will be held on the third Thursday in October at 6:30 p.m.”
This round of contract negotiations has been mentioned a lot in public discussions of the district’s financial troubles. An anticipated shortfall in revenue led the district to hold two tax levy referendums in the last year, one which failed and one which passed. With many pointing the finger at the district’s higher than average pay and benefits cost as a contributing factor to the district’s financial situation, the board has been under pressure to negotiate concessions in the new pact. Most recently, the outcome of these negotiations were mentioned by the Paris Town Board as being a factor in whether the town can make a contribution to the non-profit foundation set-up to benefit the school district.
