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Show Teacher's contracts still being negotiated the high quality of professionalism." In salary negotiations, the teachers are a asking for a 12.7 per cent raise with 11.5 per cent in the base and the rest in insurance, retirement and pay increments. The board of education has offered eight and one-quarter per cent. Walker stressed that for the 1981-82 school year, Iron County salaries ranked 42nd out of 44 districts in Utah. Also, of the 18 school districts that have completed negotiations, average salary increases were over nine per cent. Walker: feels withouta higher increase than the board is offering, the movement toward state average is delayed. While Morris admitted that Iron County School District salaries are lower than average, he states thai averages can be misleading because oi the different catagories. Morris said Iron County doesn't have some of the advantages that othei districts have. "We are gradually squeezing th( other areas for salaries," said Morris using last year's 11 per cent plus in crease as an example. Eleven and i half teachers through attrition and 1' aides were decreased for last year, ir part to give substantial increases t remaining teachers. The approved 1982-83 budget in creased instruction from $4,287,536 t $5,009,754, by far the largest increase ii any area of the budget. CEDAR CITY Though the school year has recently come to a close, teachers are already planning for the next school year at least with regards . to the contents of their paychecks and school policies. Negotiations between the teachers, represented by members of the Iron County Education Association, and the Iron County Board of Education, have survived several meetings. Both parties feel much progress has been made, although issues still divide them. Both teachers and the school board foresee coming to an agreement within the next two or three weeks. Besides the issue of salaries, the termination and probation policy has come under attack by the teachers. According to Richard Walker, president of the Iron County Education Association and one of the four team members represented at the negotiations, the issue of termination and probation has become a bigger issue than salary. This clause, which was added to the policy handbooks in the fall of 1981, deals with the teacher during the first three years of service the probationary period. Without cause or explanation, the school board has the right to dismiss a teacher up until March 24 of the third year. "The policy puts more of an emphasis on termination rather than remediation, and that is distrubing to our teachers," said Walker. "We feel it's a step downward, a lost right." The clause is part of a trend already initiated by other Utah school districts and is receiving its first test locally. In March of this year, a third-year teacher was terminated without reason. The case is currently in the courts. Superintendent Clair Morris, who is representing the board of education, along with Rett Shakespeare, Kent Peterson and Kent Hulet, believes employers should be able to dismiss their people in an effort to "maintain |