The Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Education Association (HSEA) spent 10 hours at the bargaining table with district administrators this week, producing both progress and new challenges.

Teachers gathered in a school parking lot ahead of Wednesday night’s HSE School Board meeting to hear an update from their bargaining team. The news was mixed.

On the positive side, the union and district resolved a long-standing Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) complaint, an agreement announced the evening before the gathering.

“Glad that the ULP has been settled,” said Craig Frawley, speaking on behalf of the teachers’ bargaining team. “We are hopeful that central office stays true to their word that they are willing to work with us moving forward.”

But Frawley said the district’s opening proposal for a new one-year contract fell short. He described it as “not a tenable situation.”

According to Frawley, the administration’s plan calls for higher health insurance premiums and an increase in the out-of-pocket maximum, with no corresponding salary increase. “That means that every teacher in the district would take home less money,” he said.

If that remains the case, Frawley added, “something else has to be given back to us.”

While Indiana law does not allow teacher time to be directly negotiated, Frawley said the union intends to push for contract language that addresses workload concerns.

“Teachers need time back,” he emphasized, noting that the union’s counterproposal—expected to be delivered to administrators Thursday—will take a “creative” approach to that issue.

“We have to be creative,” Frawley said. “And we are going to ask central office to be creative as well.”

The next bargaining session is scheduled for Monday.