Rochester Community Schools approves new teacher contract
ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - The Rochester Community Schools Board voted to approve a new tentative agreement with the teachers' union Tuesday night.
It's a contract that some say gives teachers too much freedom.
Through the tentative contractual agreement, the district will invest an additional $33 million in RCS teachers over the next three years.
The board voted five to two for the new contract that offers raises for Rochester teachers. However, it also brought up concerns about finding a balance between teacher protection and parental oversight.
Some in attendance at the divisive board meeting said the new tentative contract creates barriers between parents and the classroom.
"This agreement fundamentally shifts the balance of power away from parents and toward an unchecked academic freedom for teachers," said one resident who spoke during the public comment period.
Others said the controversy was cultivated, and the contract supports teachers who want the best for their students.
"The topics that are made for home will always be left for home. Our hearts drove us to be teachers," said a teacher in attendance.
After hearing public comment, the board voted to approve a new contract with the Rochester Education Association. Two of the seven board members voted against the agreement, including trustee Andrew Weaver.
"The language again is so vague," Weaver said. "That it absolutely could lead to, again, my concern is legal implications. How do we deal with this if a teacher files a grievance?"
Weaver said one of his issues with the contract is the language stating that any recording in the classroom can only be made with a teacher's permission.
The president of the Rochester Education Association, Liz Schroek, said that rule is nothing new.
"For the last two years, every teacher, every student, we've been operating under this, and there haven't been any problems," Schroek said.
She said the clause protects both teachers and students.
"We need to be mindful; somebody else's child is in these shots, and in these videos, in order to record or be part of a recording, someone needs to consent to that. And so we as teachers believe that we have that right, as well as the students," Schroeck said.
Others in attendance and on the board took issue with an "academic freedom" clause in the contract that states, "No imitation shall be placed upon study, investigation, presentation and interpretation of facts and ideas concerning humanity, human society, and the physical and biological world and other branches of learning."
"This opens the door for teachers to introduce personal or political views unrelated to the class, potentially without parent knowledge," said board trustee Carol Beth Litkouhi.
Supporters of the contract pointed to the rest of the clause that states that academic freedom is "... subject only to accepted standards of educational responsibilities and applicable laws, and the realization that teaching in an elementary or secondary school places special responsibility on the District and its educators to carefully consider the maturity level of the student and the special circumstances that surround the teacher/learning relationship."
"So there are a number of provisions in here that are just being ignored because I guess there's this fear that teachers are on this mission to teach children things that are inappropriate," said board trustee Jayson Blake.
Schroek said academic freedom can attract and retain the best teachers, along with the raises that the new contract provides.
"We're going to be paid toward the top of the Oakland County salary schedule, and we believe that's going to attract new and younger teachers to Rochester," Schroek said.
Additional contract details include a reduction of the salary step schedule from 18 to 15 steps; increases in base salary by three percent in year one, three percent in year two, and $2,000 in year three; increases in longevity pay; mutually agreeable language on formerly prohibited subjects of bargaining such as teacher evaluations, layoffs and recalls, teacher placement and teacher rights.
The REA master agreement will be publicly available on the RCS website once the agreement is signed and dated.