By SANDY McGEE

CUMBERLAND — The Cumberland Teachers Association (CTA) is currently planning its next move after receiving what they call a “disappointing” arbitration ruling in regards to teachers’ salary steps.

Lawrence E. Katz of the American Arbitration Association recently filed a 76-page ruling in an arbitration case between the Cumberland School Committee and Cumberland Teachers Association. The case involved teachers’ salary steps during the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 school years.
“We are disappointed with what the arbitrator decided,” said Roderick McGarry, president of the CTA. “I think the basis of his decision-making was relatively disappointing based on the facts and what we experienced.”
In September 2006, the CTA ratified a new three-year contract that was designed to place most teachers at the state average salary for teachers by 2008. The new contract also called for a reduction in salary steps from the previous 12 to 10 in the second year of the contract.
However, the CTA began noticing in 2007 that some teachers were not receiving pay from the correct salary step, according to McGarry.
“In short, what happened was that in year two of the contract, 2006-2007, the union and the administration were in agreement that people received money they were supposed to receive.
The third year of the contract, 2007-2008, is in dispute. This was the first time that we realized there was an error.
“People were moving in the wrong direction (for the salary step). If you were on step three, you should have been on step four. People were sliding across the step system horizontally (instead of vertically).”
The current 10 step salary scale is organized on a vertical chart.
The CTA submitted a grievance in September 2007 and later filed for arbitration in October of the same year.
After a year and half of reviewing the contract and evidence, arbitrator Katz presented his ruling in late December.
Katz said in his ruling that, while both parties agreed on the contract, they did not provide details on how teachers would move up the scale from step 2 and beyond.
“I have reviewed the evidence as to the negotiating history in considerable
detail – hoping that it would provide some reliable or objective indication of the parties’ mutual intention,” Katz wrote in his ruling. “Notwithstanding that extensive review, I have not found any clear and direct indicator of an agreed-upon rule for the year 2 moves.”
In his final statement in the ruling, Katz writes, “Since I have concluded that the year 2 salary placements effectuated by the School Committee were contractually-proper, it necessarily follows that the year 3 salary placements were also proper.”
While CTA officials said they would not discuss the details of the ruling at this time, they are planning to release a public statement in the coming weeks. The CTA is also planning their next course of action, which could involve legal action.
“We haven’t ruled anything out at this point,” McGarry said. “Any action that we take will be based on the appropriate steps in the legal system. It will be handled through our legal representation. There are multitude of issues that we are dealing with.”
The three-year teachers’ contract is set to expire on Aug. 31.
To view the full 76 page arbitration ruling, visit the Cumberland School Department’s Web site at www.cumberlandschools.org.