Mar. 11—ROCHESTER — Teachers overwhelmingly voted last week to approve their union’s new contract with Rochester Public Schools after the two sides came to a
tentative agreement in February.
The union, known as the Rochester Education Association, held voting among its members from March 5-8. According to REA President Vince Wagner, 89.7% of those who voted gave a green light to the contract.
“I’m really happy with the voter turnout,” Wagner said. “I think it’s important that members speak up because that’s how we resolve issues.”
In total, there were more than 1,000 teachers who voted on the contract, representing 84% of the union membership. Union members make up 90.4% of the teachers in Rochester Public Schools.
The contract will now advance to its final step in the process, which is to be approved by the Rochester School Board.
Teachers approved the contract with a larger margin than they have in previous years. According to Wagner, the teacher contracts are “usually” approved with anywhere from 50% to 60% of the vote.
There were a couple of changes to the way the union hosted its vote. Previously, the union’s bylaws indicated that a member’s lack of vote would be counted as a “no.”
“We removed that,” Wagner said. “So that if someone wants to vote ‘no,’ they have to vote.”
The union and the district came to a tentative agreement on the contract Feb. 19. The contract covers the years 2023-24 and 2024-25. Since the first of those years is well underway, teachers will receive back pay once the contract is approved by the school board.
Overall, the cost of the new contract represents an increase of approximately 14% for Rochester Public Schools. In their salaries, teachers will receive a 6% increase the first year. In the second year of the contract, they’ll receive a 1.05% increase in addition to an $800 step advancement on the salary schedule.
The process of arriving at the current contract was a
long, prolonged process.
However, it ultimately resulted in higher salaries, lower health care costs, and limits on the number of students in elementary classrooms. District officials described it as the largest increase for teachers in 30 years.
The most recent Minnesota legislative cycle was touted as a “historic” investment in education funding. Wagner attributed that as a reason behind the large increase for teachers on the local level.
“It’s not the district witholding money; it’s the state,” Wagner said. “The funding that came from the state is what made this possible.”