Murray teachers late Tuesday OK'd their contract with the district, but with unprecedented low support and several teachers still fuming over issues including a new football coach's pay deal.
Sixty-six percent of voting teachers agreed to a small cut in pay, some cuts to aides in the elementary in-school suspension program and insurance premium increases.
"This is unbelievably low . . . (and) a red flag," Murray Education Association President Star Orullian said. "When we get a ratification, we're usually in the 90s" in terms of percent approval.
"We have a lot of very, very unhappy teachers."
Murray Superintendent Richard Tranter understands the teachers' angst, but is relieved to strike resolution.
"This whole problem is caused by the lack of legislative funding, and we're trying to balance insurance increases (with) local funds and on the backs of local teachers, so yeah, this is hard," Tranter said.
"Do teachers deserve a better package? Absolutely. And next year, I hope the economy is better for us and more monies are able to be put into education. The last two years have been extremely challenging for us."
The district worked to balance a $1.2 million deficit, mainly due to a cut in the state's block grant for teacher training and a $450,000 insurance increase, for the coming school year's budget.
The district cut programs, including elementary school music, to fund more than 80 percent of insurance increases and make up for the more than one day's pay eliminated by the state funding cut.
The district decided to cut two hours off the working day for aides in the elementary schools' in-school suspension program. That ensured teachers would receive just one-fourth day's pay cut overall.
But that still had some elementary schoolteachers fuming.
And some teachers were still angry over the district's decision to hire Murray High's new football coach at his full experience level — a rarity for interdistrict transfers — while the other 370 teachers faced a pay cut.
The district said the coach was considered a "critical need" hire and noted he also is a business teacher, which the high school also needed.
The Murray Education Association halted contract negotiations twice in the past month, in part over that issue, which continued to rear its head Tuesday.
"They're still real frustrated with the football coach (hiring) . . . but felt it was time to move on," Orullian said. "We may philosophically disagree (with the district), but us holding out may or may not change the total outcome on what (teachers') salary looks like next year."
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