From Randy Cerveny, president of the Harford County Educators’ Association:
As a result of the Harford County Executive, David Craig, not funding the Superintendent’s budget request for the upcoming school year that included increased compensation for HCPS employees, the Harford County Education Association (HCEA) and the Harford County Board of Education (HCPS) were forced to re-negotiate the agreed-upon salary increases.
HCEA and HCPS held a bargaining session today, June 16, in order for HCEA to hear if the Board of Education would agree to some compensation for the 2011/12 school year. HCPS employees have not had any salary increases for the last two years. HCEA hired a financial consultant who pointed out to the Board of Education where he believed there was money to cover this cost. Additionally over the last 10 years Harford County Government has steadily decreased the percentage of the total county budget that is used to fund education.
Unfortunately, the Board of Education is claiming they have no money for any increases for employees. Therefore, the HCEA bargaining team, with the support of the president, Randy Cerveny, has told the Board of Education that we are at impasse and will now notify the newly-founded independent labor board of same and request mediation.
HCEA President Randy Cerveny said after meeting with teachers across the county, “Teachers are required to work at least one part time job and sometimes more in order to pay their bills. They would rather spend this time preparing supplemental activities for their students.”
For more information about the mediation process under the new Maryland public school labor relations board, please see:
That is the process. Impasse then mediation….the mediator has the driving need to give them something….. it is called negotiation one nibble at a time.
Tune in to 970 AM to hear Maynard and me talk about the breakdown in negotiations and what it could mean for employees and students in Harford County Public Schools.
What time?
I dunno…I heard a rumor that the proposal by Tomback for the pay increase was all for show and that he told Craig not to even try to fund it. Hopefully it’s just a rumor and has no basis in truth. I know a lot of people figured we wouldn’t get all of what he was asking for, but that we’d get something at least…even if it was just a token raise.