Onaway Board of Education and teachers agree on a new contract
Members of the Onaway Area Community Schools Board of Education formally ratified a new contract with the teacher?s union which will bring a major change to next year?s school schedule.
Formal negotiations with the Onaway Federation of Teachers began in May and concluded with the teachers ratifying a tentative agreement in late September. The school board unanimously approved the two-year deal at Monday?s one hour meeting in the Media Center.
?THIS CONTRACT was a true compromise giving the teachers a deserved raise in pay, while allowing the district to maintain quality programming through scheduling and program adjustments,? said superintendent Bob Szymoniak.
With the agreement comes a major change to the start of school day for the 2006-07 school year. The current start time of 8:10 a.m. will be 8:45 a.m. in the fall of ?06. Current bus routes have some students getting on a school bus prior to 6:30 a.m. The 8:45 a.m. start time will help alleviate this problem. The end of the school will change to 3:35 p.m.
THE MAJOR components to the agreement are as follows: year one of the contract gave teachers a two percent raise and eliminated prescription reimbursements.
The teachers also agreed to reduce their prep time from 72 to 60 minutes per day. These changes will allow for all teachers to have prep at the same time and increases their students contact time per day.
?With the increasing accountability of our schools, we needed to find a way to ensure there is more daily communication among the teachers, and offer the kids as much instructional time as possible,? added Szymoniak.
?I am pleased to have a two-year contract with our teachers. I also appreciate their willingness to work with us and look beyond self-interests making sure our school continues on a positive path.?