Back At the Bargaining Table

Today, our team went back to the bargaining table with a clear goal: to make a tentative agreement that honors, not harms, our staff. We brought a serious proposal, one that reflects your value and the reality of our schools. Our hopes were high that, this time, we'd find a partner in administration.

We were wrong.

We were met with the same tired, broken record: "deficit financing," "cleaning up past messes," "403B" and "HSA contributions." It’s a story we’ve heard before, a convenient excuse that simply doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.

Let’s cut through the noise and get real:

Everyone is in a "deficit." Most schools in Indiana are in similar straits, yet we aren't hearing other districts demand their teachers take home less. The narrative that every fund in HSE is "broke" is a myth, and we are done being fed a story that doesn't make sense.

We know our worth. We are asking to be held harmless from insurance premium increase this year ($2.7 million in recurring dollars, of which the district has already offered $1.098 million). Our staff is worth every single penny and more. Yes, state funding is tough, but that doesn't excuse selling us short.
Fear is not a strategy. The administration is using the "unknown" of Senate Bill 1 as a scare tactic to justify pay cuts. We are bargaining a one-year contract, and we are ready to collaborate on real cost-saving measures. But administration? They’re stuck on repeat, offering no new ideas -- just the same old story.

The most telling moment?

We asked administration what they saw as a "win" in this contract for us. They couldn't answer. Their silence was deafening. To them, there are no winners in this agreement—because the "win" was the 23-24 contract, the contract from two years ago, the contract before they were even here. They’ve already decided our worth is a thing of the past.

Attached you will find the proposal that we shared with administration today. Another proposal that was rejected.

This is a fight for our respect, our livelihoods, and the future of our profession. We need to stand together, united and strong.

In Solidarity,
Your Bargaining Team