The Knoxville Education Association presented a one-year teacher contract extension proposal to the Knoxville School Board at their most recent meeting, which would keep the teachers under contract for the 2019/20 school year and still allow a salary negotiation to take place in the spring of 2019.

The Knoxville School Board made a counter proposal of a one-year contract extension of the same contract without several items, including taking out the healthcare article that would bind the district to certain numbers. Superintendent Cassi pearson tells KNIA/KRLS News the board does not want to get locked into an insurance contract in such a volatile market when right now they have a consultant working on getting them the best deal they can and the contract could possibly prevent them from doing so, but the board also wants to let teachers know that the board has no plans to cut benefits.

Pearson also said that the collective bargaining law passed by the Iowa Legislature mandates that the board can throw out all negotiation excluding salary, which the board does not want to do. The offer is still under consideration by the KEA, which will have to be approved or rejected by July 1st.