advertisement

Cary teachers union, school board reach tentative deal on all issues

The outstanding issues that had held up an earlier tentative agreement between the Cary Elementary District 26 school board and teachers union have been resolved.

Both sides say they now have a tentative deal on all outstanding issues.

“The tentative agreement we reached in early September was about covering some specific areas and not the whole contract,” said Julia Curry, co-president of the Cary Education Association. “That’s what we achieved last night.”

Neither side would release details of the deal Thursday.

Curry said union members would review the agreement Friday afternoon, before a final vote on Tuesday.

Likewise, a news release from the school board said details would be released after ratification.

Board President Christopher Spoerl and Superintendent Brian Coleman did not respond immediately to calls and emails seeking comment.

On Aug. 1, the board and union announced a tentative deal had been reached. But in a follow-up meeting, the two sides failed to come out with a firm pact and continued to negotiate.

“It was kind of an agreement on what we thought were the most important things,” union member Annette Bear said. “We hit some bumps in the road on things that we thought would go smoothly and get resolved quickly. But they became more complicated and took a little longer.”

The two sides, which have been negotiating for almost a year, are trying replace a contract that expired in August. Teachers have been working under the conditions of a contract the board imposed a week before the start of the this school year. Those conditions include a salary rollback to 2008-2009 levels, a longer school day and shorter preparation times.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.