Teacher contract talks in Geary USD 475 could run into June this year.

That’s the sentiment following a daylong session Monday in the school district.

Cathy Rankin, Junction City Education Association President, noted it’s a slow process. “We worked some on definitions today and then we had to sidetrack over to some of the issues surrounding the definitions, and so we’re going to be at this awhile.”

Dr. Beth Hudson, Associate Superintendent of Schools,  echoed a similar viewpoint.  She noted the next meeting is in the middle of May. “Because school closes and all the end of year activities we won’t meet again until June. But it does look like it’s going to take us another two-and-a-half days at least, to  get to some kind of resolution for the contract.”

Negotiations are scheduled for a full day on June 3, and for a half day on June 4.

The session on Monday also included a consensus on continued use of the KEEP process for teacher –  employee evaluation, and consensus  that would allow elementary school teachers who feel that they have an overload situation in their class  to have a process that they can go through with the administration to evaluate and find a solution.  On the overload issue Hudson added in the current agreement the middle schools and high school are more clearly defined by the number of courses that they teach in a day. That’s harder to do in the elementary schools.