The Murphysboro Education Association and the Murphysboro School District No. 186 failed to reach an agreement at Wednesday’s meeting.
Thursday the teachers are on strike.
After eight months of negotiating and no contract agreement with Murphysboro School District No. 186 lead to Murphysboro teachers going on strike.
The main issue is how salary increases will be distributed over the three-year contract.
MEA spokesperson Lisa Shields says the teacher are frustrated over the negotiations.
“The bottom line is that they have not come back with any reasonable or fair offer, they definitely have the money.”
Superintendent Chris Grode (gro-dee) says the school district has received an increase in money from the evidence-based school funding model signed into law in 2017.
“We benefited from that great a bit, however over the last years while we were getting the evidence-based funding, we’ve hired back eleven certified staff members and 13 non certified staff.”
Grode says they also purchased text books and other equipment to build back the school’s programs.
Sheilds says the teachers have worked with the district in the past when the budget was tight.
“There have been years that we took a freeze, because we knew the district was in a financial situation where it would have been difficult on them.”
Currently the district has $3.5 million in their education fund and the association thinks it should go to salaries.
Grode says they are on financial review because the state wants them to have $6.5 million in the fund, if that amount drops lower, they’re become early warning forcing them to come up with a deficit reduction plan.
“A deficit reduction plan is basically cut programs are you going to cut because your expenditures are out pacing your revenue.”
Grode says the boards last offer will put them in early warning.
“We’re going to spend with the four percent increases $200,000 more than what were projected to revenue.”
The association doesn’t see it that way.
“The money is there; the money will continue to be there and we wouldn’t do anything that would hurt our community or our school.”
The last offer to the teacher was 4percent the first year, 3.8 the next and 3.5 in the final year of the contract.
