Teachers union sets LR session on bonuses

Payouts of $1,000 require Key’s OK

Teresa Gordon, president of the Little Rock Education Association, a teachers and support staff union, has called a 5 p.m. membership meeting for today to update members on the status of a proposed $1,000 bonus for district employees.

Gordon said employees are frustrated that the bonus, which was negotiated by union and district leaders for distribution before the spring break period that starts March 19, has not been approved by Arkansas Education Commissioner Johnny Key.

Key acts as the school board for the state-controlled district and has the authority to act on the proposal. The district is in its fourth year of operating under state control with a state-appointed superintendent and no elected school board.

Gordon said both the district and association negotiating teams did their research on the district’s ability to afford the bonuses before reaching an agreement.

“We gave up two days out of our contract,” Gordon said about concessions in recent years. “We gave up money from our health insurance. Any and everything we’ve been asked to do, we’ve done it. We finally agree [last month] to a $1,000 bonus and here we are 15 days later and we don’t have a signature from Commissioner Key.”

The organization’s meeting will be at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School’s cafeteria, 905 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.

Teams of Little Rock School District administrators and association leaders negotiated the one-time $1,000 bonus last month, which was projected to cost the district $4.4 million.

Members of the association ratified the tentative agreement on the payment last month.

Superintendent Mike Poore and his staff sent the bonus plan Feb. 13 to Key. Key responded in writing to district leaders that he was tabling the proposal and “requesting additional information to make a fully informed decision.”

Key specifically asked for an updated budget for the current school year and a projected budget for the coming school year. He also asked for any updates to the funding plan for the district’s new Southwest high school, which is in the early stages of construction, and other identified capital projects.

Kimberly Friedman, a spokesman for the Department of Education, said Wednesday that the Little Rock district was still working on the financial updates.

“We don’t have a working timeline or deadline,” Friedman said about the timing for Key’s decision on the bonuses.