WCTA Members Ratify the MOU on a 2% Salary Scale Adjustment
Contact: Carol Mowen, President, WCTA Board of Directors ([email protected])
(Hagerstown, MD) During the first full week of May, over 1400 members of the Washington County Teachers Association (WCTA) voted to either approve or reject a Memorandum of Understanding between WCTA and the Washington County Board of Education (WCBOE) as part of contract negotiations for FY2025.
With nearly 50% of the membership participating in the vote, WCTA voters ratified the MOU with 97.17% in support and 2.83% opposed.
“The ratification of this MOU provides a 2% adjustment to the current salary scale for all Unit 1 members that will be effective on May 24, 2024,” said Mary Heeringa, WCTA’s UniServ Director and chief negotiator for the Association. “The 2% remains on the scale moving forward, so this is an early settlement that results in a 2% increase for the 24-25 year.”
According to WCTA President Carol Mowen, the Board has offered this adjustment in order to ensure that WCPS meets the June 30, 2024, deadline for a 10% salary increase above the negotiated salary schedule that was in place as of June 30, 2019. This is required by state law as per the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future. This 2% adjustment provides the 10% increase and avoids potential penalties (such as a reduction in state funding) that could be levied by the Accountability and Implementation Board (AIB).
This ratification will be the first of two ratifications needed for this year’s contract negotiations.The second ratification vote will take place once the teams meet and agree on the remaining items under deliberation.
“We still have the FY 2025 salary terms and the Career Ladder to negotiate before bringing these items to the membership for ratification,” said Mowen.
During this year’s negotiations, each side opened two articles in the Negotiated Agreement as per the terms of the contract.
- The Board’s team opened Article 23.14 Notice of Intent to Return and Article 13.3 Final Assignments.
- WCTA’s team opened Article 8.1 Misbehavior and Article 7.14 Planning Time.
According to Heeringa, the teams are 85% finished with the language negotiations and are close to agreement on the final article. However, the teams have not finalized FY 2025 compensation and have not agreed on Career Ladder negotiations as required by the Blueprint. Those items may further adjust salary scales pending available funding.