The McCracken County School Board is looking to reestablish professional negotiations with the teachers of the McCracken County Education Association.
The board’s unanimous decision came at its regular meeting last night.
Negotiations between the board and MCEA haven’t been active since 2011. School board chair Jeff Parker says the board’s problem with the previous contract was language regarding exclusive representation of McCracken teachers.
“Not all teachers are members of MCEA," said Parker. "We want to work with our teachers, we want to work with MCEA so we have no problems working on a contract with them but it had to be the right language, it couldn’t be against the law. The way the old one was done, it was against the law.”
Parker says there's a lot of ground to cover since talks fell out so board members are working on a draft to a renewed contract now.
“Since 2011 there’s a lot of KRS and a lot of laws that have changed, things they need to be put in and taken out so as soon as we get a draft, we can get it to them and start working back and forth," said Parker. "It will be under the exact same process: it will be the two assistant superintendents will negotiate with the MCEA and when they get an agreement they’ll bring it to the board for approval”
Parker expects the board to have something ready to present to the MCEA by May next year.
