THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2008
High School Board President Predicts Talks Near An End
By DWIGHT ESAU
Journal Reporter
The marathon negotiations between High School District 207's board of education and the Maine Teachers Union (MTA) may be coming to an end soon.
Joann Braam, president of the school board, predicted Monday, Apr. 14, that the talks, which have been going on since February, 2007, would be wrapped up and a new contract unveiled "by the end of April."
"We are getting down to the nitty-gritty, and we are entering the final period of negotiations," she said. "We have completed discussions of many minor items and language changes, and we are moving forward with teacher retirement and financial issues."
Negotiating sessions are planned, Braam said, for next Monday, Apr. 21, and a lengthy session is planned for next Friday, Apr. 25. She also has called two special meetings of the board to update other members on the progress of the talks. They are scheduled for today (Wednesday) at 7 a.m., and next Wednesday, Apr. 23, at the same time.
The talks have dragged on for a record length of time, Braam has said in the past, primarily because the union and board decided this year to update and rewrite many routine, minor sections of their collective bargaining agreement. The district's nearly 500 teachers have been working without a contract since last August, when the previous three-year agreement expired. Both Braam and union representatives have said the discussions have been intense and detailed, but cordial.
In related developments this week:
* The board will hold a building and grounds committee meeting on May 5, at 6 p.m., prior to the regular May board meeting, for the purpose of discussing possible facility updates. Board members recently toured Maine South, East, and West high schools to get updates on possible renovation and construct ion needs.
* Finally, the district's technology plan was reviewed at a meeting of the board's Education Committee on April 7. Recommendations for the upcoming 2008-09 school year on this topic will be discussed at a future meeting of the board this spring.