Once again, Keith Knauss gets it wrong.
At the May 18 School Board meeting, Mr. Knauss stated that the Teachers' Association is proposing an 4.6 percent increase in "payroll" each year, as compared to the 2.1 percent being offered by the board.
Check it out yourself on the Board Video, at time marker 1:35:35. http://youtu.be/Vh4-P1hNDEs
The documents given to me by the board negotiating team clearly state that the 4.6 percent includes increases in salaries plus other things the board calls "compensation."
Will Mr. Knauss retract his statement publicly in this forum as well as to his constituents? We hope so. But the damage is done.
What damage?
The inaccuracies and missteps damage Mr. Knauss's reputation.
The inaccuracies and missteps damage the transparency the board claims to value.
The inaccuracies and missteps damage labor relations and our progress toward a contract settlement.
The inaccuracies and missteps damage teacher morale.
The inaccuracies and missteps damage the community's understanding of the situation, and therefore its ability to guide the board in its wishes.
UCFEA has asked the board repeatedly to speak in terms of salary and not "total compensation" to avoid just this kind of confusion.
Mr. Knauss's misstatement is the ultimate proof that this concept leads to miscommunication. As chair of the board's finance committee, as a "numbers guy," as a bargaining team member, even Mr. Knauss got it wrong — in public — with his notes in front of him — when he knew he was going on record.
How often is this same mistake being perpetuated? How much misinformation is out there due to this confusion over "total compensation?" How many community members are trusting these numbers? How many board members are getting a skewed sampling of their constituents' wishes?
So, what are the teachers asking for?
Using the board's method of projecting costs, the association's proposal asks for a 2.4 percent salary increase next year. The board is offering 0.02 percent in salaries. Let's stick to straight talk.
Anita L. Quinn
Chief Negotiator, Unionville-Chadds Ford Education Association
(7 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)
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Again, the leadership of the education association will do anything to divert attention away from their excessive compensation demands. This time it’s the chief negotiator for the Education Association Ms. Quinn.
My statement at the May 18th board meeting is correct and Ms. Quinn needs an accounting lesson on two fronts.
One, Ms. Quinn has used a narrow definition of “payroll” in an effort to create a “tempest in a teapot”. From an employee’s viewpoint such as Ms. Quinn’s, the definition of “payroll” only includes what is in a paystub. But from an employer’s viewpoint “payroll” is defined as all costs associated with maintaining employees or compensation. See the two definitions below mentioning compensation.
Two, the district is offering salary increases averaging 1.7% each year for 4 years. The Education Association (union) is asking for 4% salary increases each year for 3 years. Not 0.02% and 2.4% respectively as Ms. Quinn asserts. May I suggest Ms. Quinn talk to our business manager Mr. Cochran to get the correct information?
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I’ll not feign damage created by Ms. Quinn’s misstatements. Let’s just call it two honest mistakes on her part and move on to goodfaith bargaining. For a detailed explanation of contract progress and a response to many of the Education Associations concerns see:
http://teacher-contract-2015.blogspot.com/2015/05/board-negotiations-team-response-to.html
Here are two sites that talk about payroll from an employer’s viewpoint.
“The sum total of all compensation that a business must pay to its employees for a set period of time or on a given date.”
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/payroll.asp
“The accounting for payroll involves all aspects of paying compensation and benefits to employees.”
http://www.accountingtools.com/payroll-accounting