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White Plains Teachers Head On the Memorandum of Agreement: “A Fair Contract”

Posted on June 13, 2017 by John Bailey

Kerry Broderick, President, White Plains Teachers Association calls contract “product of good conversation.” WPNCR File Photo

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. June 12, 2017:

The head of the White Plains Teachers Association issued this statement today on the Board of Education approval of the Memorandum of Agreement the Board approved last night on the proposed new contract with the Teachers.

“The agreement is the product of good conversation of the needs and parameters of both the district and the teachers. It is a fair contract.”

WPCNR, asked if the Step Level increases, and automatic extra year of service added for existing 1st year, 2nd and 3rd year teachers affected tenure. She said the step level upgrade did not:

“Contract negotiations have no relationship with tenure. Tenure is a state law and is about being granted due process rights.”

On the effect of the salary negotiations on pensions, Ms. Broderick explained:

“In order for a teacher to retire with full pension benefits, they must have a minimum of 30 years of service at 55. Should a person retire with fewer than 30 years, there is a substantial penalty on the pension payout. Once a teacher reaches 62, the penalty on the pension is lifted as the payout is determined by years of service. The payout is determined by your Final average salary (your final 3 years or your highest 5 years), your age, and years of service (2% per year of service to a max of 60% of salary. Tier 5 and Tier 6 are much less. You can look at NYSTRS.org for more information.”

Only the salary portion of our contract negotiations impacts our pension.”

New 2-Year Teachers Contract Memorandum of Agreement Approved by Board, Now It’s Up to the Teachers Union to Accept it.

Posted on June 13, 2017 by John Bailey

Acting Superintendent of Schools for the White Plains City School District, Dr. Howard Smith confirmed the Board of Education Acceptance of the Memorandum of Agreement on a new two year contract with the White Plains Teachers Association at the School Board last night. WPCNR File Photo

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. June 12, 2017:

Dr. Howard Smith, Acting Superintendent of Schools for White Plains, in an exclusive statement to WPCNR announced a tentative Memorandum of Agreement for a new 2-year contract with the White Plains Teachers Association, if the Teachers vote to approve the new contract. Smith’s statement:

“The Board approved the contract contingent upon approval by vote of the full Teachers Association membership. So it would be inappropriate for me to comment until we have received confirmation of ratification by the Association. “

The White Plains Teachers Association on their website set the vote on the new contract for June 20

The Memorandum of Agreement is a 2-year contract beginning in 18 days, July 1, 2017. It increases all Step Salary levels 1% and in addition elevates all present teaching staff to the next step level, in their next year.

New teachers beginning July 1st will receive the 1% increase applied across all 20 Step levels. This raises the salary of a 1st year teacher with a Bachelor of Arts to $56,161 (from $55,605,currently).

Teachers already on staff today will receive 3 to 5% more salary next year, because their status will be raised one step above what they would be eligible for in the previous contract. They get a year’s increase in step pay which they would not have gotten until next year under the previous contract.

The Memorandum of Agreement also increases teachers’ payments of their health insurance portion .75% the next two years from 13.5% this year to 14% beginning July 1, and 14.25%, July 1, 2018.

Asked if pensions were affected by the advancement in the step status of present staff, Dr. Smith explained to WPCNR they were:

“Pensions are determined by a formula based on years of service at the time of retirement in a position covered by the State Retirement System and an average of highest salaries earned by the retiring teacher during their service. So a teacher’s future pension will increase as a result of step movement on the salary schedule in 2017-18 representing both another year of service and a higher salary.”

The Memorandum of Agreement also increases teachers’ payments of their health insurance portion .75% from 13.5% this year to 14% beginning July 1, and 14.25%, July 1, 2018.

The cost for the portion of payment a family health plan the teachers are responsible for is $3,458 , s single plan is $1,544, beginning July 1. On July 1, 2018, those costs go up to $3,672 and $1,639. These shares of currently on staff teachers paying the cost of their health insurance are partially and sometimes completely covered by the effects of the automatic step to the next increased step level they will be receiving, a level of salary they would not have been eligible for until July 1, 2018.

The Memorandum of Agreement if the teacher union members agree to it in their vote next Tuesday, gives them better compensation than if they choose to continue to work under the Triborough Agreement (in lieu of a contract in place).

One example: if you have a Master of Arts and are eligible for Step 2 salary, under the new Memorandum of agreement you receive $69,702 beginning July 1. If the Triborough plan is opted for (by rejection of the contract proposal), that M.A. would only receive $69,012. On July 1, 2018, that MA now at Step 2, would be more ahead, because they would receive $73,111 compared to $71,671 under the Triborough agreement.

The MA now who would reach Step 4 as July1, 2018 is $2,130 ahead of what they would receive if the Teachers Union votes to turn down the Memorandum of Agreement The presently on-staff teachers receive approximately the salary increase equivalent of one year more of service under the former contract.

SCHOOL BOARD CONSIDERS NEW TEACHERS CONTRACT MONDAY.

Posted on June 10, 2017 by John Bailey

CURRENT STAFF REWARDED WITH RAISES OF 3 TO 5% A YEAR.

TEACHERS MUST PAY 14% of HEALTH INSURANCE, THEN 14.25% THE NEXT YEAR.

FUTURE 1^ST YEAR TEACHERS ACROSS ALL STEP LEVELS HIRING SALARY INCREASE: 1%.

MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT APPROVED BY BOARD OF EDUCATION

WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. BULLETIN By John F. Bailey. June 9, 2017 UPDATED JUNE 14,2017:

The White Plains City School District and the White Plains Teachers Association have come to a Memorandum of Agreement rewarding current members of teaching staff with approximate raises of 3 to 5% over the next two years, and raising new teacher hires salaries 1%.

Teachers at the highest paid levels receive 1% increases plus longevity increases.

The Board of Education approved the memorandum of agreement Monday evening, June 12. The teachers will on whether or not to accept the contract June 20.

It is an interesting new contract, according to the memorandum of agreement— based on White Plains Teachers Association documents:

“Effective July 1, 2017, Teachers will move up one step and 1% will be placed on the salary schedule. Effective July 1, 2018, Teachers will move up one step and 1% will be placed on the salary schedule.”

A Step is the level of salary taking into consideration a teacher’s present educational degree and number of years served in the district.

For example, if you were hired by the White Plains Schools this year (2016-17) and hold a Masters of Arts degree and it’s your first year with the White Plains School District, your salary is $63,672.

However, if you have MA and have been with the school district 10 years through this year (2016-17), your salary this year was $89,476.

Under the proposed new contract that first year salary (Step 1) for a new teacher with an MA hired by the district for the 2017-18 academic year would increase 1% to $64,630.

Each of the 20 Step pay levels are increased across all degree levels and years with the district. Each Step Level would increase 1%.

The effect — this allows the district going ahead to hire replacement teachers new in their first year to the district at only 1% salary increases going forward at all academic degree levels. This is a significant saving.

For teachers on staff already, it is a different story:

Under the new Memorandum of Agreement all current teachers are automatically increased one Step effective July 1, and another Step on July 1, 2018. This automatically adds two more years of service (and its commensurate step pay) when you have only worked for the district one more year.

In the 2nd year of the contract present staff automatically get a raise to their next step in sequence. The effect: Present teachers gain two years in longevity and degree pay for their next two years.

Here’s how this works to the staff teacher’s advantage: If you are completing your 2^nd year this month as an MA teacher with the district, you will automatically move to Step 3 reflecting 3 years experience instead of the two you have just completed, but you are not actually skipping a level, but you are moving to a higher level of pay than you would have gotten under the old contract that increases your pay more than 1% because you are at a higher level of pay presently than a new teacher in their first year with the district:

You move from $66,454 which you made in 2016-17 (just completing your 2^nd year) to $69,702 (new Step 3 pay), which is a 5% raise in pay. You get a higher pay in your third year of the district.

In the second year of the proposed contract, starting July 1, 2018, the beginning of our MA 2 year hire, entering his or her fourth year he or she automatically is raised to Step 4 (4 year pay) with three years experience. They then get automatically jumped to Step 4 pay of $73,111 – a 4.9% increase from $69,702, the salary in 2017-18.

(WPCNR would like to clarify that teachers on staff are not skipping a step to a higher level, but rather moving up to a new higher step in sequence.)

The increases in pay are partially reduced by the proposed increases in teachers’ health insurance premiums.

The insurance premiums proposed in the Memorandum of Agreement go up ½ % to $3,672 for a family plan to $1,544 for a single person in the first year of the contract and another ¼% to 14.25% in 2018-19 to $3,672 for a Family to $1,639 for a single person plan.

The contract salary increases generated by the automatic increase to the next Step level should the teachers approve the contract (if the Board approves it at Monday’s meeting) guarantee the White Plains new Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Joseph Ricca, at least a year and a half of labor peace with his teachers as he settles into the school district.

The contract negotiations with the district began March 28 and after 5 subsequent meetings, agreement was reached May 30.

There are changes in work schedules also included in the new contract.

These are the proposed new pay schedules with the last year of the old Step Schedule so you can figure out the pay increases generated by the increased 1% in the Step levels and the automatic advancement to the next step for onstaff teachers the next two years:

Current Step Levels