“Support your teachers”: Waldo County Technical Center staff advocate for new contract | Local News [Video]

WALDO COUNTY — The Waldo County Technical Center (WCTC) was a sea of red for Thursday evening’s board meeting.

Dressed in the color representing education associations, staff, students and community members lined up to protest a contract they say is unfair.

After months of negotiations, WCTC staff say the final contract they were initially offered cuts their insurance benefits.

“The final offer we were able to get from [the schoolboard] before they petitioned to go to mediation was a 5% increase and a 10% cut to our health insurance coverage. We have staff here who would actually take a pay cut if they came back next year under those conditions,” shared Lacey Williams, a WCTC math teacher and president of the WCTC Education Association. 

Contract negotiations are currently in a mediation stage, meaning an outside negotiator is helping the two sides reach an agreement. Educators say they’ll do whatever it takesfor a …