Front Page  news  metro

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

APS, EAs Reach Tentative Agreement

By Andrea Schoellkopf
Journal Staff Writer
       Educational assistants have tentatively agreed to a 5 percent raise, under a proposed contract with Albuquerque Public Schools.
    The agreement, which hinges on a vote this week by the 1,900 employees, is still a far cry from the $1-an-hour increase the Albuquerque Educational Assistants Association was seeking. If approved, it would break a months-long impasse, which included a sick-out by one-third of the staff.
    The educational assistants' annual pay is among the lowest in the district, with starting pay at $10.12 an hour, or $12,000 a year.
    A 5 percent increase will mean an extra $600 to $900 a year.
    A promise of more respect, said union president Kathy Chavez, makes the new contract proposal more palatable.
    "It's more valuable than money," Chavez said during a Tuesday afternoon news conference at the union offices. "... For me it's just recognizing the value of the work those educational assistants do each day in the classroom."
    The agreement "commits the board and superintendent to recognizing employees as valuable, dedicated members of the APS education team; honoring and respecting the work of employees;" and helping to push the Legislature for a new three-tier pay system for EAs ranging from $15,000 to $25,000.
    Superintendent Winston Brooks said the tiered pay scale proposal already is in the district's legislative platform for 2009.
    "I have a tremendous amount of respect (for EAs)," said Brooks, who offered to meet with the 1,900 EAs as a whole. "You can't just teach children with teachers."
    But, Brooks added, "this was a bad year, just economically, to be asking for more money," he said.
    The educational assistants in October had voted down a pay raise of roughly 4 percent.