ISD 622 and Teachers Have 'Tenative Agreement'

After almost a year of negotiating and working with a mediator, teachers and school board members from School District 622 will vote on a new contracts next week.

Teachers have not been afraid to voice their disappointment in the drawn-out contract negotiations. Members from the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale teachers union have been angrily present at recent ISD 622 school board meetings, hosting lot outside the District Education Center.

But Rory Sanders, North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale Education Association president, is confident that the school district and the union will strike a deal.

“It sounds like we have a tentative agreement,” Sanders said. “We spent some time last Wednesday and went through [the proposed contract] with our members, and we’re still doing that.”

Sanders said District 622 employs 700 teachers, and he hopes that every teacher takes the time to vote.

Last year, the Legislature decided to do away with the Jan. 15 deadline for districts to settle contracts with their teachers’ unions.  For this reason, and other reasons that Sanders can’t yet disclose, ISD 622 teachers have gone without a pay increase for 11 months.

“We understand that the economy is not the greatest, but we are the working people in the community,” Sanders said. “We’re just trying to pay our bills.”

While teachers have been at recent school board meetings, Sanders says the relationship between the union and the school district is a respectful one.

“We are about the kids and we want what’s best for them,” Sanders said. “We are here to educate them. And that’s something that both the district and the union can agree on.”

Teachers and school board members will vote on the proposed contract next Tuesday and Wednesday.