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WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. November 11, 2014:
White Plains Teachers and the White Plains Board of Education now have a 5 year contract bringing labor peace to the school district through 2016-2017.
The contract was approved unanimously by the School Board last night. It retains the policy of step increases for longevity, and progress on education degrees the first 20 years of service and grants a 1% across the board raise in 1015-16 and another 1/2 % increase in 2016-17.
Teachers do not receive retroactive raises for 2013-2014 and 2014-15 this year, because according to the Taylor Law they were paid under the terms of the former contract requiring automatic step and lane increases during expired contractual periods (guaranteed by the Triborough Amendment to the Taylor Law.
However Teachers who had 20 years of service at the end of the last contract get a makeup payment of $750 and a $750 raise added in the first six months of 2015 plus $600 added to their 20th year in 2015-16 and 16-17.the last two years provide catch-up raises of $750 added to Step 2 for teachers who did not receive step or lane increases the first two years of the new contract (2012-13, 2013-14)
The contract in White Plains often looked at by other school districts as a bellweather..also obtained agreement by the teachers to pay 13%of their medical benefits in 2016-17. They presently pay 10-1/2 %.
The Interim Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors told me the new contract over the next two years costs the School District only ½% more next year and ¼% More in 2016-17 than what the district would pay under Taylor Law if they continued the labor negotiations.
The teachers agreed with the School District that all teachers would accept the statewide SWSCHP (Southern Westchester Schools Consortium Health Plan). The effect of this acceptance of SWSCHIP by the teachers increases teacher out-of-pocket teacher medical payments 8% by 2016-17, but decreases School District health premiums because teachers no longer have the option of Oxford and HIP health plans.
The School District will pay $2,574.24 ($9.753.60 premium per teacher total under SWSCHP) than Oxford less for a Single Person Health Plan, though and $108 more than HIP for that Single Person Plan.
The district pays $5,432.28 less (paying $20,579.64 total premium per teacher under SWSCHP) for a 2-Person Plan than they would pay Oxford for a 2-person plan. The district SWSCHP plan for 2 persons costs $2,967.72 MORE than the HIP 2-Person Plan, however.
The advantage to SWSCHP is clear in the Family Plan that affects the higher salaried presumably older-in-age teachers. Under the SWSCHIP plan the White Plains schools will save $5,889.84 (paying $21,847.68 in total premiums per teacher), compared to $27,737.52 total premium per teacher for a Family Plan that Oxford charges the district and $28,038.36 that HIP charges for a Family Plan. HIP premium for a family plan is $28,038.36 (District on SWSCHP saves $6,190.68 over the HIP Family Premium.
The increases in salary the teachers agreed to in 2015-16 and 2016-17, net teachers little more than a $1,000 in net salary increase before taxes because of the increase in medical health premium teacher share to 13%.
The pay increase of the average teacher in White Plains, with ten years of Service who is earning $94,480 before the 1% increase in salary in 2015-16 and the ½% scheduled to go up in salary to the $102,909 level in the fifth year of the new contract nets that teacher when you deduct their share of the Family Plan premium of $3,472 gets a Pre-Tax Salary of $99,437.
The Family Plan Premium share increase whittles a 9%, $8,429 pay increase in two years( from $94,480 to $102,9090) to a 5.2% Pay increase to $99,437, with a net actual pay increase of $4,957 over the final two years of the contract. The 1-1/2% raise over the next two years is whittled way significantly by taxes, inflation, and the increased insurance premium
The teachers accepted a contract keeping the rate of salary growth very close to what the Triborough Law would have continued to give them. The new contract will cost the school district ½ percent more than what the Triborough Law automatic increases would have cost the district in 2015-16, and ¼% more than Triborough in 2016-17 had the teachers decided to continue their discontent.
The final year of the contract,2016-17 nets that teacher on a Family Plan scheduled to make $102,909 in 2015-16, $2,963. Basically the raises teachers receive in the new contract pay for the increased health premium and leave them only with an approximate $1,000 net increase after taxes. The District saves $3,000 in premiums on a Single Plan and $6,000 on 2-person and Family Plans.