A proposal by two Danville District 118 School Board members to amend a contract with the Danville Education Association was tabled last night (Wednesday). Board members Lon Henderson and Bill Dobbles had attempted to make modifications in the agreement. School Board president Dr. Randle Ashton noted the board’s official negotiating team has already been talking with the DEA…
{Audio: ”…trying to work out additional terms to the original agreement that we had. And see if we can augment the first agreement that we had. So we’re going back and forth – talking with each other – trying to come up with a different agreement…like a new improved agreement.”}
Derrice Hightower, (shown here) President of the Danville Education Association, lashed out at Dobbles and Henderson for by-passing the school board’s bargaining team….
{Audio: ”Why all of this nonsense? I have stated repeatedly that I do not bargain in public. If you want to bargain publicly – do it the right way. There’s a format for opening-up negotiations to the public. I’m not against it. I have nothing to hide.}
Henderson said he was concerned that the opportunity to recruit new employees would be diminished with the contract agreement that was ratified earlier. He added the proposal he and Dobbles had forwarded would have rewarded staff for the tough year they have had because of the pandemic. Henderson also said he feels that he and Dobbles were able to get the two sides talking again, but Ashton says they were already talking.
Dr. Ashton (shown in top photo) agrees district employees should be rewarded….
{Audio: ”It was a very tough year last year. And we want to make sure everybody – and that’s the idea of the DEA is that’s why the original proposal was across the board took care of everybody equally. Because the T/As historically have not been compensated as well as everybody else. So they wanted to make sure that was taken care of. And even what we’re talking about will probably do that in a similar fashion.”}
The Dobbles/Henderson proposal was tabled until the next school board meeting. Meanwhile members of the DEA are being informed about the new proposal from the board’s negotiating team to amend the contract that both the DEA and school board have already ratified.
