WPCNR SCHOOL DAYS. By John F. Bailey. November 6, 2014:
Labor peace between the White Plains City School District and its teachers without a contract for two years and four months has been achieved.
Interim Superintendent of Schools Timothy Connors told WPCNR, he could not talk about the contract until the Board of Education approved it, but said he was happy with the agreement and that both the Board of Education and the White Plains Teachers worked very hard to settle their differences that as he put it, ” we appreciate and respect our teachers and this agreement enables the district to move forward.”
The sides put aside the acrimony of 3 rejected contract offers the last two years. The sticking point was the school district insistence on attempting to curtail step increases in earlier offers.
The district now (if the Board of Education votes to approve the contract) has established labor peace for three years of any new Superintendent of Schools they hire to replace the architect of the agreement, Timothy Connors who has apparently talked the sides into the necessity of coming to an agreement
The White Plains Teachers are happy with the contract, they voted in favor of the five year contract by a 3 to 1 margin, 398 to 75 via secret ballot Wednesday afternoon, according to the President of the White Plains Teachers union, Kelly Broderick. Is she happy? WPCNR asked?
“I am,” she said shortly after the Wednesday afternoon vote. “I am as happy as can be because the agreement gives a little bit everyone. There is no retroactive salary increase for the last two years (Editor’s note: Eligible teachers received step increases under the Taylor Law the last two years).
Broderick said the contract and runs through 2017. Step increases are preserved, and there is no salary increase this school year (2014-15).
Teachers who have reached step 20,and have not received a salary increase the last two, years as a result of their longevity will receive a $750 increase July 1, 2015. Making up for their lack of any raise the last two years.
The new contract according to the Memorandum of Agreement, calls for a 1% raise across the entire step range in 2015-16 and a $600 Raise will be added to Teachers past Step 20.
In the final year of the contract in 2016-17, teachers across all Step Levels receive a 1/2% raise and teachers past the Step 20 level receive an additional $600.
The School district, the Memorandum of Agreement notes has also gotten the teachers union to agree to one health plan provider for all teachers the Southern Westchester Schools Consortium Health Plan which saves (through coopegfrative bargaining) saving the district $2,574.24 on a Single Person Health Plan; $5,431.80 on a Two-Person Health Plan, and $5,889.84 for a Family Plan over Oxford and HIP plans.
Teachers currently pay 10-1/2 % of their Health Care. In January 2015 of this year’s new proposed contract, they will pay 11.5%; On July 1, 2015 their share of premium will go to 12.5%, and in the last year of the contract, beginning July 1, 2016 their share of health care premium will go to 13%.
Readers should be aware that the salary increases scheduled for years 4 and 5 will increase salaries by 1-1/2% added on to the present step pay increases.
For example if you as a teacher have moved into another year of service and added to your education, you get that step increase plus more money. A teacher scheduled for an automatic 2% step increase as they moved up in degree and longevity actually get a 3% increase in salary not a 1%. The School District refers to a salary increase as a 1% raise when it is actually increasing salaries about 2 to 3-1/2% depending on the Step level a teacher is moving up to each year they stay in the district.
