At the mayor's request, Cleveland Schools CEO Eugene Sanders met with Cleveland Teachers Union President David Quolke Friday to give an update about teacher contracts. Quolke says Cleveland teachers want their contracts resolved before the new school year begins.
David Quolke: Both Dr. Sanders and I have agreed that we need to get back into that dialogue, and I think the mayor's urging has really prompted us to look hard and make sure we engage in what he calls 'an intense dialogue.'
While both sides won't say why negotiations stalled, Sanders' decision to make teachers reapply for jobs within the district is one issue holding up the discussion. Also, Sanders wants pay cuts of 4.6 percent and to shakeup rules that would force the district to lose newer teachers before more senior ones. Sanders says, in an ideal world, they will have contract decisions by the first week of July.
Meanwhile, Sanders is focusing on another element of the district transformation plan: redesigning the central office.
Eugene Sanders: We also anticipate at the end of our transformation to have again fewer and thinner number of employees and thinner layers of employees within the district.
In his letter, Mayor Frank Jackson said that in order for Cleveland Schools to succeed, the district and the union have to begin working together.