Contract Negotiations

A potential strike was the buzz of the school at the beginning of the year, but the talk kind of fizzled out when it didn’t happen when everyone was expecting it to.  Everyone freaked out when the Butler Dispatch published a statement in September titled, “Knoch teachers expected to start strike on Monday”.

Yeah.  That didn’t happen.

No school sounds like a great idea, but is going on strike going to be a fun-filled vacation?  Also…is everyone even up to date on where the teachers and school board stand?  Lucky for you, I’m going to be talking about that in this article so we can all be on the same page.

Let me address something right now.

I have not attended a school board meeting this year.

I am not a teacher, a school board member, or an adult who pays taxes, has a job, or has to provide for a family.

I’m sixteen.

I am a student.  A student who has enough solid evidence to conjugate my own personal opinion and is going to state the facts.

One of my biggest pet peeves is ignorant people speaking.  If you don’t know what you are saying, stop talking.  This is a huge problem at our school–students go around talking about “the strike” like they know what’s going on; yet, in reality they just hear rumors from their parents, other students, or maybe even teachers.  Who knows, really?  I want to help out and give as much information as possible so y’all aren’t running your mouths.  It’s extremely annoying.

If you don’t know already (aka you’re living under a rock in the South Butler County School District),

our community has been in turmoil about recent ~contract dealings~.  The teachers have started their fourth year of working without a contract.  Compared to other schools in the area, their salaries are below average.  Because they are working without a contract, they haven’t gotten raises they believe they deserve.

You may ask, “Why is everyone demanding a raise?  You can’t just…get raises randomly.”  Well, the cost of living goes up every year.  Teacher’s salaries usually increase each year as well (it’s part of the contract) but because they don’t have one, nothing has changed for four years.  This is called step increases, and it’s kind of confusing.  Do yourself a favor and Google it if you really want details.

And it’s not just pay raises this controversy is about; it also has to do with post-graduation tuition, health care, Act 80 days, and other school related things that aren’t necessary to go over.  So, point is, there are legitimate reasons why the teachers want more money/changes.  Now don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a debate about underpaid teachers, I’m just stating the facts.  If you want more details, the board published it on the district website, so go there.

Anyway.  Back in 2015, the teachers asked for the “Neutral Fact Finding” process, and the school board agreed.  A “Fact Finder”, for those who do not know, is someone who comes in, unbiased, and tries to find a compromise to the controversy at hand.  They are the “peacemaker”; they listen to both sides of the argument and try to find an agreement.  This did not work; the compromises were continually rejected.  Now it’s 2017–they have gone through the fact finding process again, but it has not worked.  The teachers voted no twice, while the board voted yes.  So, because everyone is still dissatisfied, the next logical step would be to strike.

Here’s the part where I come in with my opinion.  Don’t get excited, I can’t go on a rant about “what side I’m on” like it’s some kind of “teachers vs board” smackdown because I will 100% get in trouble, but I can talk about my insight if we do ever go on strike.

A strike would affect everyone differently.  For some seniors in the midst of completing their post-high school requirements, it could be a huge setback.  But for others, it could be a nice break–if they used their time responsibly they could focus on applying to colleges and other decisions that don’t need time in school.  Or they could just take a break from the chaos of school and sports and the impending future.  However, adjustments and arrangements would have to be made for anyone who wants to attend college early (military academies that begin in the summer, for example). Those kids still need to graduate high school.  If the graduation date was pushed back, that could be problematic.

As for me?  The only burden would be on my parents.  My mom and dad both work all day, so they would have to put me in charge of babysitting my four younger siblings.  Which could be disastrous.  How long would that last?  Most likely a day or two.  My mom would probably have to take off work or have my grandmother come to the house or something.  That destroys the idea of a “fun vacation”–I’d be stuck in the house all day with nothing to do; it’s not like I can drive and hang out with friends.  So just keep in mind that everything is put on hold for every day we aren’t in school, whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing.  Legally, we couldn’t strike past June 30th, so if a strike were to happen, I’d rather it be earlier in the year.  We could lose all of our vacation days and be stuck in school forever (okay, not actually…but I want my holiday breaks!)

Also, sports would be affected.  Back when we went on strike in 2009 (I hadn’t moved here yet) some teachers who coached sports crossed the picket line and continued practice, games, or whatever.  Technically it is allowed, but a lot of people looked down upon it.  But it would stink for the kids that are in the middle of their season to just…stop. I know if we would have gone on strike during cross country season, we absolutely would continue to have practice–fortunately, we have an assistant coach that isn’t a teacher at Knoch.  Soccer is the same way–many players even said it would benefit their season because of the extra morning practices they would get to schedule.  But some sports and activities aren’t so lucky.  If you’re a runner like me, you can always train on your own.  It’s not the same as an actual practice, but it’s better than nothing.  Things could get complicated for teams who use the gym, however, or the stage for fall play or musical rehearsal. Musical is just around the corner, and I know that time lost would be a huge setback for the performances.  Back in 1989 when we went on strike, the entire musical was canceled.  Or what about prom?  If the teachers who organize the event aren’t around, what will happen?

I’ve noticed that the whole thing is kind of a touchy subject.  Teachers getting fired, staff resigning, board elections–it’s hard to keep up with as a student.  The teachers can’t really talk about it either, so there’s this awkward curiosity about it all.  I’m sure they are tired of students asking “when are we going on strike”.  It might not even happen–it’s not like they want to go outside with picket signs in this weather, anyway.  Everyone just wants to compromise (well, let’s hope that’s the attitude.)

Oh, another thing!  10/10 would recommend going on Facebook and reading comments from South Butler Community members if you are intrigued about the negotiations and other people’s opinions.  It’s very interesting how the adults let out their anger on social media.  Quite relatable if you ask me (thank you, Twitter!).

Let’s be real–this “potential strike” does not affect me like it is affecting the teachers and the rest of the staff at Knoch, and I’m not going to pretend that it is.  But some students are going to be impacted if something happens.  On the bright side, at least you are a little better educated on what’s going on with the negotiations and such.  It’s important to know stuff, kids!

Disclaimer: this does NOT mean that we are going to go on strike.  There is always the possibility that everyone will agree at last and be happy.  But until that happens…well, yeah.  We’ll just have to wait and see.