Bargaining talks between the Gary Teachers Union and the Gary Community School Corp. has been put on hold because of the district's distressed school status.
Patrick Mapes, chairman of the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board, issued a stay order Tuesday delaying the bargaining process because of the assignment of a financial specialist who's sorting out the district's books, said Sarah Cudahy, spokeswoman for employment relations board.
Typically, the employment relations board would have stepped in and assigned a mediator to convene talks because the union and district failed to reach an agreement on salary, wages and fringe benefits by the end of September. A 2011 state law gives both sides a two-month window in August and September to ratify an agreement before the state assigns a mediator.
Cudahy said an impasse was declared in Gary on Oct. 5. She said the stay means that the contract provisions will continue until a new contract is ratified.
Under the Tuesday order, both sides are expected to provide monthly status reports.
It's the first time a stay has been granted because of a school district's distressed school status, Cudahy said. Gary is the lone district in the state that's been declared as distressed. The General Assembly established the status earlier this year.
Gleneva Dunham, president of the Gary Teachers Union, said teachers know there's little hope for a raise because of the district's dire financial straits. Its debt is estimated between $80 million and $90 million. Last week, financial specialist Jack Martin said the district was "beyond bankruptcy," and faced massive cuts.
Dunham said a first-year Gary teacher earns an annual salary of $40,500.
"Once we get a mediator, there's not a lot to hash out. There's nothing to bargain for really," said Dunham.