The Matanuska-Susitna Education Association has voted to ratify a contract with the borough’s school district after negotiating for over a year and a half.
The union representing roughly 3,400 teachers and school support staff had voted in May to approve a strike after the school district made a “last, best offer.”
Over the summer, the district then changed their offer, increasing pay raises from 2% to 3% over each of the next three years, and increasing district contributions to teacher retirement and Health Savings Accounts.
However, the district did not compromise on switching health insurance plans halfway through the year, from the Public Education Health Trust to Premera Health Insurance.
The union and district came to a tentative agreement on July 7.
“It doesn’t approve what the district and the school board did to get us to where we got,” MSEA President Vicki Hewitt said. “But what it does show is that they care about the community. They care about the kids. They don’t want to put the community and the students through anything more.”
The MSEA voted to ratify the contract with the district on Saturday. Over 72% of the members who voted cast their ballots in support. A release from MSEA said that over 85% of the members voted.
The MSBSD school board will now vote on whether to approve the ratified contract at their Aug. 2 meeting.
Hewitt said that the major sticking point in negotiations was the switch in health insurance for the 2024 Fiscal Year, which began on July 1.
“The health insurance has not been a smooth transition,” Hewitt said. “It would have been very helpful if they would have at least delayed it until Jan. 1, because people have already paid their deductibles, and their co pays.”
Hewitt said that members remain disappointed about the health insurance, and that many have had to get planned surgeries and medical procedures re-approved and re-scheduled after the switch.
The contract runs from July 2023 until the end of June 2026. Classes for Mat-Su students will begin Aug. 15.
Tim Rockey is the producer of Alaska News Nightly and covers education for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at trockey@alaskapublic.org or 907-550-8487. Read more about Tim here.
