Labor negotiations are souring in Rutland City schools, where the school board has just rejected the recommendations of an independent .
Board members argue the report was flawed 鈥� and unaffordable for taxpayers. The union says the district's teachers are among the lowest-paid in the region.
Union president Sue Tanen has been working in Rutland schools for nearly 20 years. The district is no stranger to difficult contract talks, she said, but the union has accepted the recommendations of fact-finders in the past 鈥� even when it didn鈥檛 like them.
鈥淲e accepted it all the times it wasn't exactly what we wanted it to be, and they're refusing to accept it 鈥� trying to make it seem like it's not valid. And it is,鈥� Tanen said.
But Charlene Seward, who has been leading negotiations on behalf of the board, says the district is just doing its due diligence.
鈥淲e want to give the teachers as much as we possibly can, but at the same time, we have a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers,鈥� Seward said. 鈥淚t's right that we look at the fact-finding report with our eyes wide open, go through all the facts that are in there, check it, make sure that it's sustainable.鈥�
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Seward says that the board is planning to release additional details soon about its analysis of the report鈥檚 flaws. But the main problem, she said, is that the fact-finder underestimated the cost of his proposals.
Negotiations between the district and its 273 teachers have been ongoing since December 2023. The current contract expired July 1, when an impasse was declared. The two parties have already tried and failed mediation, and engaged a fact-finder in March.
Salaries and sick time have been the key points of contention. Where some districts gave their educators special time off when they needed to quarantine during the pandemic, educators in Rutland just blew through their sick time. And pay, Tanen said, doesn鈥檛 match what neighboring districts offer.
鈥淲e are one of the lowest-paid in the area. We lose people to other districts, and we need to fix that,鈥� she said.
Rutland City teachers also receive a city pension in addition to the state鈥檚 pension, and board members argue the fact-finder did not adequately take this benefit into account.
鈥淚鈥檓 not saying that we are at the top of the charts, but when you add our pension 鈥� we are close to the top,鈥� Seward said.
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There's a 30-day cooling off period after a fact-finder's report is issued where educators can't strike and management can't impose a contract. After that, Tanen says all options are on the table.
The last teachers strike in Vermont took place eight years ago, in Burlington.
