JANESVILLE — An agenda item for an upcoming Janesville School Board meeting was amended Monday after it widened in recent days the rift between the school district and the Janesville Education Association.
The board is set to meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at the district office, 527 S. Franklin St.
The original agenda item was introduced four days ago.
The agenda now states that there will be “Discussion and Possible Action of the Janesville Education Association (JEA) 2024-2025 Negotiations.”
Prior to Monday afternoon, it had said there would be discussion and possible action on a “tentative agreement” between the JEA and the district.
JEA President Laura Mattison, hours after the agenda had been distributed through email, denied in a reply-all that any such agreement had been made.
“This agenda item is misleading and erroneous. We are staggered that the district chose to publish this board agenda with this item on it. This incident serves to undermine ongoing discussions and potential agreement for next year’s contract,” Mattison wrote.
The JEA and the school board are still negotiating, including in closed session after 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
Last Thursday, School Board President Kevin Murray said language in the agenda that was “placeholder language that’s not really accurate.”
The Gazette asked the district why the agenda item was written as such and how it was distributed to the public even when there wasn’t a tentative agreement in place.
“As I understand it, the language used last week is how it has typically been posted in the past. After receiving feedback from JEA since the initial public notice, we changed the language, which required another public posting of the revised agenda,” District Public Information Patrick Gasper told The Gazette in an email.
Mattison told The Gazette said in a statement on Monday that the JEA “recognizes that this is a positive step in the right direction.”
“It’s an acknowledgement by the district that what they did was problematic. We don’t understand why the district put that language in to begin with. This only serves to emphasize that we have work to do to correct the confusion created by the district and also to repair the relationship between the Janesville Education Association and the School District of Janesville,” Mattison wrote. “The JEA is ready to work with the district as soon as they reach out to us.”
Also in the statement, Mattison wrote that the JEA has been “asking for months” to meet with the district and the board about the impact of the healthcare changes. The district will now pay 88% of employees’ health insurance, instead of 90%.
JEA representatives have protested the move, including by wearing black to school on May 1, also International Labor Day. They also spoke out at school board meetings. JEA members also handed out free donuts while encouraging staff members to sign a petition to persuade the board and staff to change their minds about the insurance decision.
“We have been waiting for a response, but the district refuses to answer. As such, we have now sent an urgent request for the district and board to meet with the JEA and are waiting to hear back. We just want to talk,” Mattison said.
The board has the option to declare an impasse and impose a final offer into 2024-25 teacher contracts, and at that point there isn’t anything the JEA can do. Unlike in many other states, Wisconsin teachers cannot strike after labor negotiations break down. According to state statute, a school district can fire teachers who engage in a strike.
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