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DENTON – Touting it as a win-win for both the central office and the educators’ association, the Caroline County Board of Education signed two negotiated agreements for support staff with members of the Caroline County Educators’ Association Tuesday, April 1, in Denton.
“It's important to me – it's important to us – that we recreate the family feel that had been here and had been lost,” said Caroline County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Derek Simmons. “And I think we're finally, really at that point where we've got it back, and we're putting things in place that show that every person who works for us we care deeply about, and I think we have something that honors that.”
The atmosphere was celebratory as the contracts were signed by representatives of the Caroline County Board of Education and the Caroline County Educators Association Educational Support Personnel division (CCEA ESP), affiliated with the Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) and the National Education Association (NEA).
CCPS Director of Administrative Services Dr. Robert Willoughby said it was a “great pleasure” to ask the board’s approval of the agreement. He said the task of creating the contract, however, was “daunting.”
“This agreement is one that has been largely closed for a period of several years, and because it was due to expire this June 30, the entire agreement was up for renegotiation” with “a lot of updates,” he said.
Willoughby said the negotiating process involved about four or five sessions. “This has really been a collaborative process between CCA ESP, and the Board's negotiating team. … I just want to publicly say this was not a contentious process. This was not smoke and mirrors. This was not sliding papers across the desk. This was collaboration, and it was conversation. This agreement needed to be updated. Our employees deserve it, and quite frankly, the board has been saying it for a number of years.”
School board president Michele Wayman recognized former board president Rick Barton, who she said “was very much a part of the contract work,” she said. Barton attended the meeting to witness the signing.
The two 5-year agreements, which begin July 1, 2025, are with both 12-month and partial year support employees.
To highlight the speed with which the negotiating process progressed and the financial commitment of the school board, Willoughby said the completed contract was signed before the Maryland General Assembly’s sine die, or April 7 adjournment date, something “unheard of in Caroline County Public Schools.”
“What that means is we don't yet know 100% our full budget numbers for next year, but we have an agreement that is going to invest over $2.5 million into our support staff, and that's because the Board of Ed has made that a priority,” he said.
“Largely the theme of the whole thing was aligning language to the teacher agreement, so that across the board, where appropriate and where available, we have one set of rules for all of our employees, whether support staff, teachers or administrators, … something that we're very proud of,” Willoughby said.
According to Willoughby, in addition to salary increases, support employees will see:
• Cost of living adjustment (COLA) equivalents between 12% for the lowest earning workers to 5% across the board;
• Expanding eligibility for full time insurance benefits by “making the eligibility six hours of work per day instead of seven, which is going to cover more of our employees for full time benefits and drastically lower their insurance costs”;
• A Grow Your Own program to help continue the work with Maryland Leads “to develop folks that come to work every day and love our kids that want to be teachers, and be able to support them through that and keep them right here in Caroline County Public Schools”;
• Expanding opportunities for salary add-ons, for certifications and other credentials, “and being able to honor that additional work that goes into those certifications and credentials.”
The CCA ESP held a town hall meeting to ratify the agreement. “When you hear that we do things a little different in Caroline County, the association had a union meeting and invited me,” Willoughby said. “That doesn't happen, but we – collaboratively and collectively – were able to explain the changes.” The agreement was ratified unanimously by members of the CCEA.
The five school board members voted unanimously to accept the contract.
Willoughby thanked CCEA leaders and the negotiating team, including CCEA President Amy Bauman and negotiating team members Susan Algier, Sheldon Neal, Nick Marshall, Darlene Schwaeble and Dennis Younce. Comprising the school board’s team were Bill Mengel, Jill Hignutt, Jennifer Yost, Eric Lambert, Beth Brewster, Debbie Siachos and Chuck Ackerson.
