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Associates and para educators in the Knoxville School District have bargaining rights for the first time this year and the initial proposal for the upcoming fiscal year was submitted to the Board of Education this week. The employees are represented by Teamsters Local Union #238 who submitted their master contract and proposed a 2% across the board increase.

Superintendent Dr. Randy Flack says if the proposal was a total package increase it would be pretty reasonable, however it’s for wages and benefits only and there are other aspects in the agreement that are very expensive. These include expanding the work day which would be a 7% increase, not including the proposed 2%, plus a required increase in Iowa Public Employees Retirement System and an increase in insurance.

The board will submit their initial proposal at a future meeting.