JANESVILLE — While the Janesville Education Association and the School District of Janesville have found some common ground, there’s still a divide, JEA President Laura Mattison told the school board Tuesday night.
Mattison’s comments Tuesday night came weeks after the school board in late July declared an impasse with the association and imposed a final contract offer, effectively ending negotiations.
Mattison said a “couple of great things” have happened since, including one earlier in the day Tuesday as the JEA, administration and high school principals met to talk out updates to a district cell phone policy.
“It was a wonderful discussion. We really appreciate all the time and effort that (Parker High School Principal) Chris Laue, (Craig High School Principal) Alison Bjoin and the admin team put into this endeavor. When we sit down and talk, great things can happen,” Mattison said.
“The mission of the Janesville Education Association is working together to strengthen public education,” Mattison continued. “That can happen in the classroom with what’s going on with the cell phone policy. We’re doing what we can, so students are focused on their education. It can also be advocating for staff, which sometimes comes in the form of benefits, maybe salary.”
Mattison said there was also a meeting with board member Cathy Myers. Discussions were a “perfect example” of how the JEA wants to work with the school board and the district, Mattison said. “The path to get those results needs some paving. It needs some help. We have had a lot go into getting these results.”
The JEA created a petition asking to meet with the board and the district, “just to look at ways we could work on this. Hundreds of staff signed this petition,” Mattison said. “Many of them shared their stories, which I also shared with you.”
Mattison cited articles in The Gazette, public comments at meetings each month dating back to May and a story on WKOW-TV in Madison about the JEA’s push to meet with the school district in an effort to strike a different agreement.
“Why does it take this much effort on the JEA’s part to get a response from the district?” Mattison asked.
During Mattison’s comments, staff members in the audience held poster boards with a now-familiar “Fill the Hole” slogan with donut clip art, which first emerged during a May 22 demonstration by the JEA.
At that demonstration, JEA members handed out donuts purchased by the Wisconsin Education Association Council to staff members at district buildings while urging them to sign a petition asking the district to meet for a new agreement for wages. The petition had the donut clip art with the slogan and a QR code that led to the petition online.
The demonstration was in response to the district deciding to pay 88% of the employee’s insurance plans in 2024-25, down from 90%. The district is facing a $1.3 million increase in insurance costs between its two carriers — Dean and Mercy — which raised their rates as a part of the renewal process.
Staff members were also encouraged to wear black on May 1, International Labor Day, to demonstrate their frustration over the insurance decision.
Friction between the two sides increased in May when the school board unanimously approved making a $4.9 million payment to pay down $10 million of debt created when the district purchased bonds in 2019. The district’s reasoning for doing this was to eliminate almost $5.3 million payments between 2026-2030, in addition to saving $793,704 in interest payments.
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