FAQ
WHEN ARE NEGOTIATIONS?
HOW CAN I ATTEND BOARD MEETINGS?
You can attend board meetings via Zoom. Meeting links are posted on the district website, marsk12.org. Once on the district's home page, select "District Calendar." To join the Finance Meetings, select "School Board - VIRTUAL Finance Meeting." You will then see a link to the VIRTUAL Finance Meeting. To join the regular school board meeting, select "School Board - VIRTUAL Regular Meeting." You will then see a link to the VIRTUAL School Board Meeting.
What you may have heard |
What are the FACTS |
The union is going to strike. They even have a date set. I heard it was February 19th. |
At this time, MAEA does not wish to strike. However, we have notified the district of our intent to do so if they are unwilling to continue regular negotiations. The goal is to settle on a fair contract. On 11/9/2020, the MAEA supported its negotiating team by passing a “Strike Authorization Vote”. This was not a vote to strike. It only granted the MAEA negotiating team the authority to call for a strike when an impasse has been reached. MAEA has given the district until February 19th to come back to the table and reach a deal. This is two weeks longer than the law requires, and we are hopeful a settlment can be reached. |
The district could not have foreseen the rise in costs due to the number of children enrolling in cyber school due to the pandemic. |
MAEA has wanted to create their own Cyber Program using MASD employees as far back as 2012. The district preferred to outsource this instruction as opposed to paying current staff to teach MASD approved curriculum. As recently as August 2020, the association was advocating for alternative options that would have decreased costs, and increased accountability and learning opportunities for students. The end result is increased costs to the district, and a decrease in quality instruction for students. The district continues to offer cyber as an option for parents knowing that each student that enrolls in cyber decreases the funds available for every student currently attending MASD. |
Our district is also without a current contract with our secretaries, paraprofessionals, cafeteria workers, and custodial staff. These employees are on the front lines protecting the health, safety, and security of our children and buildings |
Our secretaries, paraprofessional, and janitors (which are not MAEA members) are the front lines of our district. They are the ones who do the dirty work, greet and validate our visitors, work with our students who struggle the most, handle your families confidential files, and do all the little things that keep our schools safe and secure. |
Teachers get paid enough already. People have lost jobs this year. They should be thankful for their jobs and accept any contract offered. |
Mars has some of the lowest wages of any of our neighboring districts, while the median income of residents is the highest. The best and brightest educators will continue taking jobs at other districts if we don’t make our salary competitive. |
I’m not paying more taxes so that teachers can have higher pay and benefits. |
MAEA isn’t advocating for higher taxes. However, the MASD now spends less than 50% of its budget on the people who are in direct contact with your children. That is down from approximately 60% in 1996. We have the lowest paid teachers in the area by starting salary, average salary, and percentage of overall budget in the area. We want them to make smarter decisions with the money they have available to them. |
The district says that they can’t afford to spend more money on teachers. They are cutting programs for my children already, and making us pay for extra curricular activities. Supporting the teachers would cut more programs for my children. |
The district is manufacturing a crisis. According to the budgets posted on the Mars District website, the district has consistently underestimated revenue and overestimated expenditures. This year there should be a projected revenue of $29.7 million, but the district is projecting a revenue closer to $27.5 million. The district is projecting only a 0.5% increase in total revenue from 2019-20 to the 2020-21 budget (from $50.2 million to $50.4 million), while increasing total expenditures 5.6% (from $49.5 million to $52.3 million). On average, budget increases are about 3.1% for expenses and revenue increases are only about 1.5%. Resulting in a projection of less revenue is bound to fail and result in less money spent on your children and their teachers. They have the money, they just aren’t spending it on things that directly impact educators and children in the district. |
