SMEEA Negotiations Update
August 28, 2023

Settlement Reached, Ratification to Begin Soon!

Fellow SMEEA Members,

On Friday, August 11, SMBSD superintendent Dr. Darren McDuffie reached out to SMEEA with a proposal to resolve the impasse over Salary and Benefits.  After carefully reviewing the elements of the proposal, SMEEA’s Negotiating Team has decided to accept the offer. Therefore, meeting with a state appointed mediator will not be necessary.  We are pleased to announce that this agreement completes the bargaining process for the successor agreement to the contract that expired June 30, 2023.  

Here are the details of the final agreement for Salary and Benefits:

• Increase certificated salary schedule by 10%. This 10% will be applied to all certificated salary schedules, stipends and other certificated pay schedules.

• Retro money will be paid for the time we have not had a current contract (back to 07/01/2023)

• The cap on the District’s Benefits yearly contribution for certificated members will increase by $1100, per member. The district’s contribution will go from $13,700 to $14,800 per member. 

• Benefits costs for certificated members will increase by $48.36 per month (tenthly), effective 10/01/2023

• Salary and Benefits will be open for negotiations in 2024/25 and 2025/26

• Each party will have the ability to open 2 articles for negotiations in 2024/25 and 2025/26

This agreement has been drafted into a Tentative Agreement and both parties have signed. The next step is for both our membership and the school board to hold their ratification vote. 

Here is a link to the 6/20/23 Negotiations Update with Last Best and Final Offers:  06_20_2023 Negotiations Update

Here is a link to the Ratification timeline. Our ratification process will include:

• Two general membership Town Hall events on August 30 and September 6 to review all TAs and answer members' questions (both sessions will be the same).

• Town Hall #1: August 30 Town Hall event will be at 4:15 pm. Click here for the Zoom link. 

• Town Hall #2: September 6 Town Hall event will be at 4:15 pm. Click here for the Zoom link. 

• Option for a mail-in ballot.

• Time to discuss the agreement with fellow members

• Ratification vote will end on September 12, 2023.

In order to vote in the ratification, please make sure you are:

• Enrolled as a SMEEA member. Only members are eligible to vote - use this link to enroll —>  join.cta.org

• Subscribed to our members only email system. This is how you will receive a digital ballot. Use this link to subscribe —> http://eepurl.com/dgUlW1
  

Your Negotiating Team is grateful for your continued support!