By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff Writer
When the Burlington Area School District Board of Education and the Burlington Education Association exchange contract offers Aug. 6, it won’t be for the 2012-13 school year.
Because of the ramifications of Act 10, the two entities need to determine wages for the 2011-12 school year before they can settle on any changes in wages for the 2012-13 school year.
BASD Superintendent Peter Smet said state statutes – plus the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission’s slow action on Act 10 – caused the delay.
“You have to set your (20)11-12. You set your base,” Smet said. “Your base off of 11-12 will determine where you go off of with 12-13.”
While the delay may seem odd, Smet said it isn’t particularly unusual.
“School districts around the state have done this for as much as two to three years,” explained Smet. “It’s the rules of the state of Wisconsin.”
While Smet didn’t care to make guesses on what the numbers from both sides would be, BEA President Bill Berkholtz said the teachers would be looking for what was fair in relation to Act 10.
“Basically, what we’re looking for is a fair settlement in terms of what the law allows us to get,” said Berkholtz, who added that he didn’t expect a long negotiation period.
What comes next could be the real issue. While the money for the 2011-12 wage increase has been set aside from last year’s budget, the 2012-13 budget has been set with an approximate 2 percent increase in wages for teachers.
The two new School Board members, Roger Koldeway and Phil Ketterhagen, campaigned on a zero percent staff salary increase as well as employees paying a portion of their insurance premiums.
At the June Curriculum Committee meeting, Ketterhagen vocally opposed any teacher wage increases, saying it was unearned because of dropping test scores. His comments at that meeting, considered by many to be out of line, earned him a censure by his fellow board members.
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