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
