Cape educators, district sign five-year contract

For the second time, Cape Henlopen educators and union leaders have used interest-based bargaining to finalize a five-year contract that teachers say sets sustainable raises, preserves benefits and clarifies ambiguous language.

At the April 25 school board meeting, Assistant Superintendent Jenny Nauman said the negotiation technique brings both sides together to make decisions that benefit students and teachers.

“Negotiations can have a bad rap sometimes because you have two sides coming together, but that’s not the way we do it at Cape,” Nauman said.

Cape Henlopen Education Association President Christy Wimmer said the collaborative effort allowed the two teams to finalize the contract in two days rather than over the course of months. Wimmer said this was the best contract she has helped negotiate.

“I feel we all worked together as a cohesive team, rather than labor versus management,” Wimmer said.

CHEA didn’t get everything it wanted, she said, noting all leaders are willing to work on those issues.

Union member Matthew Lindell, who also participated on the CHEA negotiation team, said some friction had existed between the union and district leaders the past couple years, but that has changed as both sides worked together.

Leaders took a constructive look at solving problems, Lindell said, which strengthened the relationship between the district and union.

The 2024-29 contract goes into effect July 1.