After more than a year of tense and drawn-out negotiations, the Juneau School District and Juneau Education Association announced a tentative collective bargaining agreement late Friday night.
“It’s a big relief,” JEA President and Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé teacher Chris Heidemann told the Empire on Monday afternoon.
Heidemann said he can’t share much about the specifics of the tentative agreement until it is released to JEA members, but he felt “content” with where the contract stands.
“We got a lot of wins there, a lot of things that I think are going to be really good, but there are also some things that I definitely disappointed with,” he said. “In the end I felt like the deal that was on the table was at least good enough that we needed to give the members a chance to vote.”
After members are sent the tentative contract, expected later this week, Heidemann said members have one week before a vote on whether to ratify it is held. If they choose to ratify, a vote by the Juneau Board of Education will follow.
District Superintendent Bridget Weiss told the Empire she is “delighted” that movement toward a ratified contract is underway.
“Reaching a tentative agreement holistically is very significant and I’m really pleased that through the mediation process we were able to get to an agreement,” Weiss said. “Nobody wanted to go into the summer without a settled contract. I think everyone was motivated to get this resolved.”
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807.
