Wichita district meeting with teachers union in closed-door sessions

The Wichita school district has resumed closed-door mediation sessions to settle a contract dispute with its teachers over salaries and other issues, according to a statement sent to district employees.

“On behalf of United Teachers of Wichita and the Wichita Board of Education, we wanted to let you know that our two negotiating teams plan to return to the table next week for a second mediation session,” superintendent John Allison said in an e-mail sent to employees last week.

The e-mail also was signed by UTW president Steve Wentz.

“We will continue work with our appointed mediator to resolve issues of concern in order to achieve resolution on behalf of all WPS educators,” the e-mail said.

“In the spirit of collaboration we will refrain from updates as the discussion is occurring. Instead we will share more information when our conversation has reached appropriate conclusion.”

District spokeswoman Wendy Johnson said the teams were meeting Wednesday.

Teacher contract negotiations are public, open meetings. If the teams declare an impasse and request mediation, those sessions are closed to anyone other than the mediator and members of the negotiation teams.

Contract talks between the district and union broke down last month after one mediation session ended without agreement on a contract for the current school year. Teachers currently are working under the terms of their 2015-16 contract.

At a Wichita school board meeting on Sept. 26, more than 200 teachers demonstrated outside and in North High School, holding signs and chanting “Enough is enough” and “We want respect.”

That capped a union-organized “Contract Day,” during which teachers were urged to work only the hours required in their contract – no more, no less – to illustrate how much teachers do during their off-hours.

Wentz, the union president, told board members during the meeting that teachers are overworked, underpaid and “need relief yesterday.”

In a statement posted on the district’s website Sept. 13, Allison said the union “continues to make demands for additional money that our district simply does not have available.”

The district had proposed a one-time, 1 percent lump sum payment to teachers, estimated to cost $2.1 million, along with some raises linked to additional experience and education, known as “steps” and “tracks.”

Union leaders proposed that, in lieu of the lump sum payment, the district unfreeze longevity pay – annual raises teachers are supposed to receive beginning in their 15th year – and lower health insurance premiums by about $55 a month.

The union also seeks to reduce teachers’ workload, which Wentz said has increased substantially over the past several years.

The last time the Wichita district sought mediation to settle a contract dispute was in 2012. Following mediation, the sides reached agreement on a contract that included the first salary increase in four years for the district’s teachers.

This story was originally published October 5, 2016 at 12:43 PM with the headline "Wichita district meeting with teachers union in closed-door sessions."