Jeffco teachers accepts contract

After six days of voting, Jefferson County teachers accepted a 10-month contract for the 2015-2016 school year.

With the union’s ratification of the contract, it will go to the Board of Education for final discussion and possible approval during its Aug. 27 meeting.

“This agreement is less than ideal for our students, our teachers, and our community, but we wanted everyone to have clear expectations for the school year,” said John Ford, President of the Jefferson County Education Association in an Aug. 26 news release. “We appreciate that teachers have again stepped forward to stand up for all students.”

After five months of negotiations between the union and the school district the two came to agreement around a 10-month contract, which expires June 30th, 2016. A new contract, the document serves as a governing guideline for the district’s teachers and school administrators. While some teachers 10-month length was a major sticking point for some teachers, many, like Stephanie Rossi, a Wheat Ridge High School social studies teacher, agree the contract’s approval was in the best interest of students.

“The downside of not having a longer term agreement means that we will begin negotiations in a few months,” she said in a release. “Negotiations cost the district tens of thousands of dollars – those dollars are better spent in the classroom.”

If approved, the district and union negotiators will return to the board table in six months to renegotiate the contract.

Should it have rejected the agreement, union representatives would have requested the negotiating teams reconvene to create a new contract the membership could accept.