Teacher contract negotiators have reached a tentative agreement on 2015-16 teaching contracts in Geary USD 475.

Junction City Education Association President Cathy Rankin explained they avoided the next step of fact finding. “I think we both realized that going to fact finding would not be good for anybody. It wouldn’t be good for the kids, it wouldn’t be good for the teachers, and it wouldn’t be good for the district.”

Board of Education member Dr. Ferrell Miller explained they reached agreement in their Thursday negotiating session on two unresolved issues….one involving elementary school teacher collaborative planning time. “And the other was considering some compensation for those teachers who work at the Freshman Success Academy and travel daily to the high school ( Career Academy Campus ).”

Rankin said there will be a meeting on Tuesday with Human Resources to get the words of the agreement down, then it goes to the JCEA board on Thursday for approval. Once that is approved it will go to the bargaining unit for a ratification vote next week. If the teachers approve it the school board would then have to consider final approval of the agreement before it can go into effect.