With no money on the table for raises, the Santa Fe school board's approval of contracts for school district employees was nearly a nonevent Tuesday evening.

The board approved both teacher and maintenance worker contracts unanimously and without a word of discussion.

Most changes to teachers' contracts consisted of updating and clarifying language in the agreement to reflect state law.

Some of the more significant changes include:

• Giving teachers with seniority priority with regard to transfers and reassignments.
• Granting teachers two uninterrupted days before the start of the school year to set up classrooms and plan.
• Paying educational assistants an hourly wage of $9.30 on top of their regular salaries when they ask to be substitute teachers.
• Reducing the number of required professional-development hours for teachers to 14 from 35.

"The majority of our staff is pleased with the changes," said Grace Mayer, president of the National Education Association-Santa Fe, which represents teachers, secretaries, bus drivers and cafeteria workers.

Superintendent Bobbie Gutierrez said she also was pleased with the changes and didn't think any of them would negatively affect the district.

Of giving senior teachers priority in decisions about transfers or reassignments, Gutierrez said she didn't foresee any problems getting teachers to move to schools where they're needed, arguing that the process is "usually pretty collaborative."

She also agreed with the need for teachers to have time dedicated to setting up classrooms instead of being pulled to district or school meetings.

The decision to pay educational assistants more money when they substitute was one of the few concerning pay. Gutierrez said paying the hourly rate for substituting — in the past assistants were given a daily stipend of $12.29 if they substituted for a teacher — was the right thing to do.

"I think sometimes our EAs do get taken advantage of," she said.

The relationship between the district and unions, particularly with NEA-SF, has grown much warmer in recent years. Only two years ago, the two sides were forced to use an outside mediator to settle contract disputes.

Some of the warming might be attributed to consistency in leadership. Grace Mayer has served as president of NEA-SF for three years and has worked with Gutierrez and Human Resources Director Tracie Oliver for all of that time.

Gutierrez also cited a willingness to work together instead of continuing an adversarial relationship. "It's give and take," she said, "and it's about compromise."

Contact John Sena at 986-3079 or jsena@sfnewmexican.com.