ROCKWOOD TEACHER SALARY NEGOTIATION IMPASSE: MEDIATOR REQUESTED. TENSE EXCHANGES WITH THE DISTRICT. TEACHER MORALE CONTINUES TO DROP.
Frustrated Rockwood teachers say they were recently dealt another blow to their morale: the district's most recent "insulting" proposal was no better than the one 80% of the teachers already voted to reject.
PREVIOUS PROPOSAL
The district's previous proposal included an almost 12% raise in increments over three years: Specifically, 5.25% the first year, 3.25% more in year two, with another 3.25% bump in year three.
CURRENT PROPOSAL
The current proposal is an 8.5% raise over two years.
NOT ENOUGH
Teachers tell us they feel like the district is not negotiating in good faith. Although 3.5% raises are not unusual in the district, they say both proposals would still leave them ranked near the bottom in pay, compared to other area districts.
OTHER DISTRICTS
This is the salary comparison the teachers union shared last November.
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| Source: RNEA (Rockwood's teachers union) |
Rockwood negotiators have indicated the district can't pay any more than the 12% initially offered. Teachers say their negotiators believe a 16% raise over 3 years should be doable.
CONTENTIOUS
Sources familiar with the negotiations say the meetings have become more contentious since last November, when teachers first publicly revealed how their pay compares to other districts and shared how some teachers have difficulty making ends meet with their current pay. You can read more about teacher struggles in our previous report here.
Since then, teachers say, negotiation meetings have, at times, been particularly tense. One teacher shared what union representatives have allegedly dealt with:
"We've been yelled at by a (school) board member. We've had the superintendent slam his hand down on the table..."
Another teacher told us:
"Rockwood accused us of spreading false information. But we didn't."
Context about the above accusation:
An email from Dr. Cain to teachers said they were supposed to use a mutually agreed upon list of salary data from a particular website, but did not. Teachers explained they used publicly available data of pay schedules from area districts. You can see the complete text of the email from Dr. Cain at the bottom of this post.
MEDIATOR NEEDED
We're told, with the impasse and escalating tension, a mediator has been requested to be present at the next round of negotiation.
Teachers say they are also frustrated that the district keeps rejecting the union's suggestions for where to find additional money to use for teacher raises.
SOLUTIONS?
Among the solutions teachers representatives say they have offered:
Flying in fewer guest speakers, cutting some curriculum expenditures (not overbuying materials), and:
1) Recapture salaries
2) Spend down the budget's reserves
3) Look at superintendent and administrator pay
RECAPTURE SALARIES
When a highly paid teacher leaves the district and is replaced by a newer teacher that is paid less, there is extra salary that is no longer being used. Teachers representatives would like to see that extra money cycle back into the teacher salary fund, rather than the general fund, so teachers can be paid more.
Example given to us:
Teachers making $90,000 retire, and the positions are filled with someone making $44,000. That's $46,000 extra each time that could conceivably go toward increased teacher salaries.
Teachers also point out that around 100 teachers leave Rockwood every year, since Covid, either to retire or to teach in another district.
They say additional money could also be available from experienced teachers that come to Rockwood but are paid as though they have fewer years than their actual experience. To understand Rockwood's pay schedule, you can access it here.
SPEND DOWN THE BUDGET'S RESERVES
It is not clear what is allowed but this would mean extra money the district has above and beyond what they are required to keep in reserves.
LOOK AT SUPERINTENDENT AND ADMINISTRATOR PAY
Teachers have been clear that they want everyone in Rockwood to be paid well. They say they are not seeking pay cuts for anyone but, are wondering if yearly raises for administrators could be temporarily reduced to help teachers catch up and become more competitive in pay.
LOSING TEACHERS
Teachers have expressed concerns for months that teachers will continue to leave Rockwood if they can't get a more substantial raise.
In one case shared with us today, a high school teacher is leaving Rockwood to go to another district next year because of the pay. Over the next six years, sources say, the teacher will earn $136,000 MORE by moving to the other district. Sources declined to provide further identifying information at this time.
PERSONAL MESSAGE
When asked if there was one message they'd like to get across to the community, a teacher passed along this:
"The Community Needs Rockwood to Prioritize their Teachers
It benefits students.
It benefits parents. It benefits our community. Finally it benefits the teachers. And if you do something that benefits teachers, classrooms, which are where almost every meaningful thing happens, are improved. Classrooms continue to be the special places where lifelong memories happen, where college scholarships are earned, where desires and student aspirations are ignited and student lives are changed."
If you'd like to express your support for a teacher raise, you can email Superintendent Dr. Cain and Rockwood's Board of Education (school board).
caincurtis@rsdmo.org
board-of-education@rsdmo.org
Lafayette's student newspaper has also reported on this issue.
You can access that article here: Lafayette Lancer news article
MORE DETAIL
Rockwood's Superintendent, Dr. Curtis Cain, sent this November, 2024 email to teachers where he expressed disappointment that the salary information was released and said it was misleading.
Message from Dr. Cain
Good Afternoon,
I hope the week is off to a great start for each of you. I’ve had the opportunity to spend time in our schools last week and yesterday attending Veterans Day celebrations, and I’m so proud of how you all pay respect to our service men and women. Thank you for making those events special for our veterans, students, staff and families.
I want to take a moment to update you on our negotiations with the RNEA. Before we get into those details, more than anything else, I want to assure you that the Board of Education and the district administrative team value and support the work our dedicated educators do for all students each and every day. You have heard me say many times that the classroom is the reason we have a school district. We know and appreciate that our teachers are the backbone of our highly regarded district, where students excel and become outstanding citizens in our communities. Having said that, all staff have a right to factual information as it relates to this bargaining process.
Over the weekend, Board of Education members and I received multiple emails from staff, parents and community members inquiring why we are not doing more to support our teachers through the negotiations process. As you know, we have a great deal of respect for the bargaining process with each of our employee bargaining groups. We work very hard to negotiate in good faith and not engage the public until an agreement has been reached. However, two things have occurred that compel me to provide you with this update:
Presently, the district is at an impasse in the bargaining process with the RNEA.
It has become quite evident that information has been shared outside of the negotiations process that is misleading in nature.
Now that we are at an impasse with the RNEA, we have the ability to share more details about where we are, and we want to provide you with context and clarity around the information that is circulating publicly.
Through more than 23 hours of negotiations, there are items where both parties (the district and the RNEA) have reached tentative agreement and there are two items on which we have failed to reach agreement, which is what has led to the impasse. Those items where we have not reached a tentative agreement are around leave and salary.
There have been emails, social media posts and now a television news story within the past week that have implied the district is unwilling to make progress in those two areas. Here is factual information we would like you to know:
About 85 percent of Rockwood’s operating budget goes to salaries and benefits for employees.
A respectful increase for teachers is on the table that is comparable to what was given in the previous negotiated three-year contract. It is an offer the district can sustain and afford going forward.
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal statute that we not only abide by, but we offer leave for all Rockwood employees that is over and above what is required by FMLA.
Historically, the district and RNEA have agreed to use the same list of St. Louis County school districts to compare salaries and other information. The salary comparisons circulating in emails, shared on social media and shared with the media are not using the agreed-upon list. St. Charles County districts are included and districts in both counties with lower salary schedules were removed, which does not make it a true or accurate comparison.
The district and RNEA review data together that is provided by EducationPlus, which is submitted by each district to ensure accuracy. The information circulating in emails, on social media and provided to the local media utilizes salary data apparently gathered through other sources.
Rockwood did not apply for the Missouri 2024-25 Baseline Teacher Grant because we were not eligible. In order to be eligible, school districts had to have a starting teacher salary of at least $25,000 and less than $40,000. In Rockwood, our minimum starting salary for teachers this year is $44,200.
While we are disappointed that this misleading information was shared during the negotiations process, we are still committed to continuing with negotiations in good faith and ultimately reaching an agreement that our teachers will support. It has always been our intent to reach an agreement that is both respectful to our teachers and sustainable within our fiscal constraints, and we look forward to sharing that with all teachers very soon.
Thank you so very much for what you do every day for students, and thank you for trusting us to provide you with the support you need to help drive their success.
Curtis Cain, Ph. D.
Superintendent