John I Borja

Pacific Daily News

Negotiations between Guam's education officials and the teachers union seem to be making progress after the entities on Monday settled on a revised collective bargaining agreement.

Guam Department of Education and the Guam Federation of Teachers drafted the agreement, which is a negotiation of teacher contracts, in early March. It was then sent to Attorney General Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson for review.

In response, the attorney general highlighted 11 areas in the agreement that she wanted clarified or reconsidered. Guam DOE and the teachers union began addressing these concerns on Aug. 24, according to a news release from Guam DOE Superintendent Jon Fernandez.

On Monday, Fernandez announced he reached an agreement on the revisions with Guam Federation of Teachers President Sanjay Sharma. The revised agreement now heads to the Guam Education Board and members of the teachers' union for review and ratification, the release states.

"Both the board and I are committed to continuing to build a collaborative working relationship with our teachers as we join hands to provide our children the best education possible," Fernandez said.

Sharma also expressed gratitude and hopes that the education officials and union members will continue to engage in cooperative agreements.

Once the education board and the teachers' union sign off on the revised agreement, it will go back to the attorney general and then Gov. Eddie Calvo for approval.

The last collective bargaining agreement expired six years ago.

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