Sumner Approves Teacher Contracts, Furlough Days

Sumner teachers will take two days unpaid furlough time under the new contract approved by the Sumner School Board Wednesday night.

The two-year contract also modifies procedures for involuntary transfers and gives more teachers opportunities to assume leadership roles that come with stipends.

The 500-member Sumner Education Association ratified the contract Oct. 3 with a 72 percent majority voting in favor.

Superintendent Craig Spencer characterized the contract as one that allots more teacher planning time and lower class sizes than surrounding districts. As part of the contract, class sizes do not increase in Sumner schools.

Teacher negotiations around the state were rough this year, in part because the state Legislature cut teacher salary allocations by 1.9 percent late in its extra session, leaving it up to districts to decide whether to make up the difference or pass cuts on to teachers.

“Many districts drew down their reserve funds or did a combination of furlough days and some money,” said Sumner Communications Director Ann Cook, in reference to Sumner's approach.

Coming up with the right combination wasn’t easy.

 “I give credit to the local teacher’s union,” said Cook. “They agreed to continue negotiations and start school on time.”

Not every school district was able to keep negotiations amicable. In Tacoma negotiations broke down, prompting teachers to strike. Students missed eight days of school before an agreement was reached thanks to intervention by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

The 1.9 percent cut for Sumner teachers amounts to 3.4 days of work. Under the new contract the district will offset the loss with stipends that pay for 1.4 days of work and teachers will take two furlough days. All teachers will receive stipends of $258 this November and $518 next November.

Of the furlough days, only one directly impacts students. Feb. 16 will become a half day for teachers and students. This Thursday half-day precedes a scheduled day off for President’s Day. Teachers already took one half furlough day Sept. 1 and will take the other half-day on a teacher work day, June 20. Students get out of school June 19.

Another significant change for the district is the length of the school year. For the first time, the number of learning days will drop from 180 to 177. The school district made that decision on it's own and is not a requirement or formal part of the contract.

The state Board of Education granted Sumner a waiver for the change. Those three days will be used for additional teacher training. It's the first time SSD has used the waiver. In the past, the state funded extra training days for teachers outside the 180 days, but that funding is gone.

While the number of learning days has decreased, Cook said that Sumner still exceeds the state minimum. Washington State requires 1,000 learning hours -- Sumner plans to provide 1,017.

The new contract also changes the process for involuntary teacher transfers from school to school, sometimes necessary due to shifting school populations. New teachers are protected from transfers for their first three years on the job and after that involuntary transfers are more seniority-based than before, said Debra Barlow, human resources director for Sumner Schools.

“That was a big issue in Tacoma,” said Barlow.

The contract increases teacher opportunities for leadership development and stipends through the Teacher Leader Program, which replaces the traditional department chairperson structure and expands leadership positions to include elementary schools.

“It moves away from the hierarchical structure that is inherent when you make someone a department chair, even if they are working collaboratively with a team,” Cook said.

Funds for teacher leader stipends already exist as per former contracts that made allotments for the department chairperson structure.

“This is a restructure at no additional cost,” Cook said.

Teacher Leader Program Director John Hellwich said about one-third of Sumner teachers will occupy a leadership position under the new structure.

“If we can disperse our leadership throughout the schools we should see all of our test score lines move up, not just improvement in pockets,” Hellwich said. Teacher leaders spearhead teams tasked with assessing data on student learning, such as do students achieve more when they receive a whole science project up front or when they receive pieces of the project week-by-week. All district teachers are required to be part of a team.

The model shifts focus from nuts-and-bolts issues toward student learning issues. For example, a technology team would focus on training teachers on how to use a SMART Board to give lessons more impact as opposed to the technical aspects of operating the board.

 “It’s that laser like focus on learning,” Hellwich said.