It’s been over five months since the School District and the Clark County Education Association began their contract negotiations regarding teacher compensation & addressing the special needs teacher shortage in the district.
On Friday, the district finally released their latest offer seeking to resolve the ongoing dispute, including a draft of the proposed salary structure.
The proposed salary structure
The new salary structure proposed an 8.5% increase in pay for the first year of the contract, then a 2% in the following. Compared to July’s offer, which was low, this one seems a generous proposal – July’s offer proposed 7% first year and 1% on the following, respectively. The union is now set to decide if the district’s new proposal of 8.5% is satisfactory.
However, the union’s original stand was a 10% pay raise for all educators plus an extra 5% boost for all special education teachers. They also proposed $5,000 boosts for hard-to-fill positions, which again was not addressed by the district’s new proposal.
District Response
The district voiced that it had no plan to reject teachers’ pay proposal. In a statement, they said,
“We firmly believe that these inequities must be corrected in this contract for the good of the organization and our students and to address teacher retention.”
The District went on to emphasize that “Historic opportunities require historic remedies. With this historic opportunity, we must right a wrong that has persisted for too long.”
Union Response
This was met with much criticism by the union as they demanded more than just words and wanted results. They deemed it a PR effort to hide that they did not intend to settle for anything substantial.
The union was very vocal in calling this move-out and how it is detrimental to teachers who need more economic support. “In fact, CCSD’s proposal increases the disparity between frontline educators and highly paid administrators,” the union replied. They explained that, in early this year, the district had already reduced salaries by 1.875 percent. In other words, if we take the district’s latest proposal, & deduct the 1.875 percent earlier reduction, we are only left with a 6.6 percent increase in pay – inadequate and far from the union’s demands.
The union also accused Superintendent Jesus Jara of misinterpreting Senate Bill 231 to reject giving educators what they are legitimately entitled to – a salary increase. Additionally, it is believed that the CFO of the district has supplied board members with details of financial standing in an intentional manner to make them feel like funding for CCEA’s demands is limited.
Parents
As Union leaders continue to advocate for better conditions for our children and teachers, Nevada Autism Center understands the gravity of the situation on special educators assisting Autistic children across the state. We understand that no one can replace a teacher’s love and attention. Parents are also integral in children’s education to ensure that they receive the support, treatment & tools necessary throughout their educational journey.
For Autism information, therapy approaches and support, look no further than Nevada Autism. We strive to provide the best services possible for families impacted by autism.
