Madison Metropolitan School District and Madison Teachers Incorporated have reached a tentative agreement (The MMSD BOE must approve in open session on June 18th and MTI must ratify). The contract calls for only a 4.0% total package increase, slightly above the QEO required 3.8, but well below recent statewide trends and the most recent statewide average of 4.29%. If my calculations are correct the difference between the state average and the proposed contract amounts to almost $800,000 annually.
It should also be noted that the contract includes an increase in health care co-pays and movement in the direction of wellness and other preventative measures to reduce health care costs. Health care costs still take up the bulk of the package increase, but under the QEO that is the union membership’s prerogative.
All in all, I think that given the budget situation it is a good contract.
Maybe those who sought to make political hay out of the impasse agreement and have misrepresented the realities of the negotiations would like to comment now.
Thomas J. Mertz
AMPS 
Can starting salaries for new teachers be set higher? If BOE members are concerned about new teachers this might be a way to attract them without going to binding arbitration.
Laura Chern