By The Chronicle The Centralia School District Board approved the collective bargaining agreement between the school district and Centralia Education Association for the 2014-15 school year at a meeting Wednesday night. The negotiation process began for the agreement on April 14 and finished Wednesday night with a 3-1 vote of approval. It was stated at the meeting that the board goes into the negotiation process with a few expectations. The board’s goal is to reach an agreement it can afford and manage, ending with relationships as good or better as when the process was first started. Board member Neal Kirby voted in opposition of the agreement, stating that although he agreed with most of the contract, he did not support days that were teacher-directed because it would solely be a salary increase.
“When I first started teaching you couldn’t even use levy money for teacher salaries,” he said. “During the whole course of my career, more and more was added to teacher salaries from local levies.” He said the process has decreased counseling services, has cut programs and has increased class sizes. “We’re currently at the point where we provide a little bit over 7 percent in additional pay above what the state provides and we are getting close to $1 million of what we are providing into those per diem days, so I guess I just don’t know where it stops,” Kirby said. The collective bargaining agreement was signed by board members after adjournment and was not immediately available for review before press time.
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