GEB extends contract with GFT

by Nick Delgado

Guam - The Guam Education Board unanimously voted to extend the contract with the Guam Federation of Teachers during Wednesday evening's board meeting. Board member Joe San Agustin made the motion to extend the contract indefinitely, while member Barry Mead made a motion to set a deadline to the extension for August 2012. The board all agreed on the motions just before public comment was received by teacher's who made the request that the contract be extended. The GFT contract with the Department of Education would have ended on November 5, 2011. The contract with the union essentially provides employee protection for DOE teachers. The education board decided contract negotiations will continue with GFT until the extension expires. Meantime, the GEB also adopted to begin the process of searching, selecting, and recommending a DOE superintendent candidate for a vote by all board members. You may recall, two candidates last month failed to garner the recommended votes to fill the position. The board anticipates the process to take up to 2 months.