Negotiations for a new master contract for the Indianola Education Association and the Indianola School Board are ongoing, in the middle of a process that could take months to resolve. The current contract expires at the end of the 2019 school year, and one of the points causing the current separation in the two parties contract proposals deals with the inclusion of permissive language. Greta Southall with the IEA tells KNIA News permissive language in the contract provides security for the teachers.

“Permissive items include things like sick leave, personal leave, health and workplace safety items, job classifications, etc. Because they are permissive, they cannot go to arbitration. Which means that if the board does not want to bargain they will go away and move into a place that is not legally binding and can be taken away at will. The concern is with the desire to take something that cannot be changed without an agreement between the two parties, and put it in a place that can be changed at will.”

Superintendent Art Sathoff tells KNIA News no matter the outcome of the negotiations, the school board and administration value teachers and the permissive language exists in the employee handbook.