By: Melissa MacDonald

I concede my errors; my last article misinformed the public about the state of affairs with the Galway Teachers Association and the ongoing budget crisis. I recently completed an interview with Mrs. Herron, the president of the GTA, to fill in on the missing info.

First, the current contractual raise for teachers is 4% over the duration of the contract, and it’s never been higher. Raises vary based on the contract and concessions made to achieve the raise. It’s based on what a teacher already makes: a fixed salary, not an hourly wage. The problem this year is that the raises were promised already by the legally-binding contract that ends next year, and the contract can’t just be changed with a sentence or two. Teachers made huge financial decisions based on that promise like mortgages and car payments, and the contract is legally binding the Board to that promise.

The GTA is in pre-negotiation as it is, but contracts are negotiated every 3-4 years or longer due to the time intensive process of drawing them up, since they usually include confusing legal jargon and back-and-forth offering. Right now the negotiations are about money and salaries, but the details are confidential to the parties involved until the contract is finalized (then it’s open to public scrutiny). “We’re not hiding things to hide things,” Mrs. Herron explained. To sum it up, it’s confidential to help keep the waters from being muddied by rumors and swayed by outside parties.  This makes the negotiations process easier overall.

The GTA has a relatively agreeable relationship with the Board, unlike most teacher unions in the state, and they’re willing to save jobs.  However, teachers in Galway make less than the median teacher salary and less than surrounding schools and they’re all the same teachers. This means, by definition, teachers have the same 5 year plus master’s degrees as well as updated certification. The GTA is willing to help save jobs, as long as there’s transparency on where that saved money is going. They don’t want it to go towards new lawn equipment or the fund balance, instead of teacher salaries.

All in all, the GTA is in the process of negotiations as of now with the Board, and they are discussing salaries and saving jobs.  The outcome shall be decided in the near future, unaided by outside sources, which means at this time, there is no public input on either side.

The budget vote is May 17th, so make sure you vote and do your duty as a citizen of Galway.