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OGDEN — All but one of the nearly 700 Ogden teachers who were told to sign new contracts that eliminate collective bargaining or lose their jobs have agreed to the new terms.
Doug Stephens with the Ogden Education Association said the district has reported that all but one person had turned in their contract by Wednesday's deadline.
"I think it's pretty much everybody," he said. "Right from the very beginning I told the association members that we advised them to sign. Because of the kind of hostile action that the board took, I don't think there's any question there that they would have replaced us."
Stephens said he recommended they hold off as long as possible so the state teacher's union and lawyers could ensure the Ogden School Board's mandate was legal.
Because negotiations between the board stalled on last year's contract, it expired and the school board opted to move forward in drafting a 2011-12 contract without teacher input.
Stephens delivered a petition signed by 2,000 supporters this week to the district offices that asked the board to reinstate collective bargaining and include teachers in negotiations for the 2011-12 contract.
"They said that they would take that under advisement," he said. "That's kind of our hope right now."
Board members have indicated they do not plan to return to negotiations on the 2011-12 contract.
Email:mfarmer@ksl.com
