RUSD Board to act on Additional Tentative Agreements

Prior to the Racine Unified School District’s Wed., March 9 review and vote on a two-year labor agreement with its teachers union, negotiators were quickly putting the finishing touches on pacts with the rest of its unionized employees.

Keri Hanstedt, RUSD employee relations manager, rushed from conference room to board room and back as arrangements were hammered out with the union representing the district’s carpenters. 

The School Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. tonight, March 10, to consider two-year agreements with educational assistants, building services employees, secretary/clerks, carpenters and a painter.

Tentative agreements, which are expected to be ratified by members today, will essentially be the same as the contract the School Board approved with the Racine Education Association (REA) Wednesday evening.

The agreements call for the union members to:

• Accept a wage freeze for 2011-13
• Contribute at least 5.8 percent of salary toward the state retirement plan
• Join a high-deductible health insurance plan that would save the district 13.2 percent in costs.

RUSD and its unions opened negotiations last Tues., March 1 to extend contracts that expire in June. Both sides feared that by not acting quickly, they would lose the opportunity to negotiate because the Wisconsin Legislature intends to remove most collective bargaining rights from many public sector employees.

School district  officials have said they are attempting to develop a fiscal 2011-12 budget that addresses anticipated reductions in state general education aid and caps on property taxes.