Emotions ran high Thursday as the Hamilton County Board of Education rejected a compromise on teacher’s health benefits and contract.
“There were a lot of expressions that showed that (teachers) were clearly disappointed,” schools spokeswoman Danielle Clark said after the meeting.
The teacher negotiation team and school officials have been working for 18 months to reach an agreement, though this is the first time a tentative agreement was brought before the board, Clark said.
The proposed changes in the insurance policies would affect employee benefits like copays, deductibles, and out-of-pocket maximums, Clark said.
But insurance was only part of Thursday’s delays.
Some board members thought it would “be the honorable thing to do” to give the three incoming board members a chance to vote on the agreement.
Board member Linda Mosley said there was no one reason the measure was voted down.
“Part if it was to give the new members a chance,” Mosley said. “But there were also parts that we wanted our negotiation team to work on more.”
Mosley also said she was hoping for a change in the state evergreen clause that allows annual contracts to go unchanged for up to three years if a new agreement is not reached.
For now, teachers’ health benefits will stay the same while board members “continue to negotiate in good faith,” Clark said.
Contract negotiations will resume today at 10 a.m.