Ratification of new teacher contact slated for Monday

 The West Bloomfield Board of Education on Monday, Aug. 13 at 8 a.m. will hold a special board meeting in which it is expected to ratify a new contract with the West Bloomfield Education Association (WBEA) teachers union.

Cyndi Austin, the Michigan Education Association (MEA) representative for West Bloomfield Schools, said that the WBEA was going to hold a ratification meeting tomorrow, Thursday, Aug. 9 before having its members vote on the contract on Friday, Aug. 10.

Austin said this will be the first time that the association’s members will vote online.

She said that she could not give any details about the new contract until WBEA members approve it.

Rick Arnett, the district’s assistant superintendent for human resources and labor relations, also said that he could not divulge terms of the proposed contract until the WBEA ratifies it, but did say that the school district and the union have a tentative agreement.

Earlier this year, 21 elementary school teachers were given a pink slip, while no middle or high school teachers were laid off.

According to Pamela Zajac, the district’s public relations and marketing coordinator, as of June 28, all but eight teachers had been recalled.