Brandywine teachers and specialists finally have a contract with the Brandywine School District.
The three-year contract was approved by the Brandywine School Board on Monday night hours after union members voted to ratify the deal.
Teachers and specialists in Brandywine had been without a contract since last June, and they protested in several ways including picketing before and after school as late as December.
The deal includes a pay raise for teachers and specialists while also protecting working conditions of the more than 1,000 educators in the district.
Brandywine Education Association President Steve Rulon – who is also a chemistry teacher in the district – says there was some give and take.
"Many of our members do several days worth of training and those trade-in days enable them to get some of that, so that it's not on their own time. We gave some of that time back to the district,” said Rulon. “Our members did get some flexibility to work from home on certain professional development days, where it wouldn't impact instruction or professional development."
The negotiations were contentious at times, and teachers and specialists protested in several ways which included picketing before and after school hours.
"What this means is it's time for us to start rebuilding and reconnecting with the district, and start looking at those places where we can work on shared priorities to really make the Brandywine School District shine and be the place that we're all proud of to work in," said Rulon.
The Delaware Public Employment Relations Board mediated the negotiations.
That board also will rule on an unfair labor practices charge that was filed by the BEA against Brandywine School Board President Ralph Ackerman following an alleged confrontation on the picket lines.
