Montgomery County’s three school employee unions agreed this week to go back to the negotiating table in order to throw a lifeline to the cash-strapped district, despite being midway through a three-year contract.
As part of a contract agreed upon in 2006, teachers received a 5 percent pay raise this year and expected a 5.3 percent raise next year.
But with millions of hoped-for dollars lost to decreased revenues and increased costs, a 2010 pay increase strikes many as unaffordable.
“It’s one of the most difficult things we’ve had to do as a union, but we’re doing it in good faith,” said Bonnie Cullison, president of the Montgomery County Education Association, representing more than 12,000 teachers and support staff.
Overall, salaries make up about 70 percent of the school system’s $2.1 billion budget. At $46,410, the county leads Maryland in its first-year teacher salary.
At around $147,000, Montgomery principals also lead salaries in the state.
“The national economic situation is impacting us in Montgomery County, and the resources simply are not available,” Cullison said.
Cullison’s union is joined by Service Employees International Union, Local 500, and by the Montgomery County Association of Administrative and Supervisory Personnel.
Superintendent Jerry Weast and the county’s school board will meet with the unions in coming weeks, in advance of the district’s recommended operating budget, to be released around Christmastime.
At Tuesday’s board meeting, Weast appeared relieved.
“We need to commend personally and publicly our three employment units,” he said.
