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The Trendline
usually focuses on policy trends at the district level. This month, we’re
taking a step back to consider the characteristics of teacher contracts and school
board policy documents that govern the relationship between teachers and
districts. Specifically, we’ll take a look at how long the typical contract
term is, how many districts collectively bargain with their teachers and the
status of teacher contracts in districts across the database.
Length of contract
The average term for teacher contracts across districts in
the database is 2.82 years, up slightly from when
we last examined
this topic in 2013. The most common contract length is three years. New York currently has the longest
contract length with an agreement covering nine years, followed by
Boston which has a contract term of
six years.
Of course the actual time period that contracts are in
effect can vary greatly from the initially-determined length. Teacher contracts
generally remain in effect until an agreement is reached on a new contract. For
example,
Buffalo is counted in the graph
above as having a contract term of five years, although in reality the contract
has been in effect for 16 years (from 1999 to present). If 16 years seems like
a long time, that’s because it is; after
on and off negotiations, wage freezes and a
court case
, the district and the union have almost exhausted
all options for mediation
set out in New York’s labor law.
In other cases, newly minted contracts include retroactive
years, connecting provisions of the new contract to years between the new and
expired contracts.
New York’s most
recent contract was ratified in 2014 but retroactive to 2009, which explains
the district’s unusually long contract term and contributes to its outlier
status in the graph above.
Status of teacher
contracts and board policies
The majority of districts in the database operate under
collective bargaining agreements: while one-third of districts (39 of 121)
generally operate under school board policies, two-thirds of the districts in
the database (82 of 121) collectively bargain with teachers.
[1]
Of those districts with collective bargaining agreements,
the majority (64 of 82) are operating under current teacher contracts while 18
districts are operating under expired contracts.
[2] Four of the districts with expired contracts have
contracts that lapsed more than a year ago. The
District of Columbia, Philadelphia and Providence are operating with contracts that expired in 2012, 2013 and 2014,
respectively.
Buffalo has been
operating under an expired contract for over a decade, the last contract having
expired in 2004.
Among the districts that do not negotiate contracts and generally operate under board policy, the majority (24 of 39) are in states where collective bargaining is prohibited; the rest are in states where districts may choose whether or not to bargain if employees request to do so. More information on the legality of collective bargaining can be found on the State Influence page of the database.
Among the districts that do not collectively bargain, there
are a few cases where districts have opted for some form of collaboration with
teachers. In
Harrison County (CO), the district
works with teachers, who are not represented by a union, in a collaborative
decision making process.
Mesa (AZ) and Norfolk (VA) also work with
teachers to outline working conditions and benefits, although the
ultimate decision making authority rests with the district.
The Teacher Contract Database is constantly being updated
with the most recent changes in teacher contracts and board policies.
Visit the
database
to see the latest agreements in 121 districts across the country
and keep reading the
Teacher Trendline to
keep up with the latest trends in district policy.
[1]
Milwaukee is counted as a district that operates under board policy. The
district does continue to collectively bargain with the teachers union over
base salaries, but all other working conditions are under full control of the
district in accordance with Wisconsin state law.
[2] At
the time of writing, Pinellas County (FL) and Brevard County (FL) are
technically operating under expired agreements, but tentative agreements in
both districts have been reached with school board approval pending.
