Faculty union leader: A win-win contract in a no-win scenario

CENTRAL VALLEY - With a 90 percent participation rate in last Friday’s contract vote, members of the Monroe-Woodbury Teachers Association voted 594-6 in favor of the “stipulation of agreement” reached by union and school district officials over the summer months, paving the way for the Monroe-Woodbury School Board to approve the contract Tuesday night. There are 582 teachers within the union, with an additional 100 teaching assistants as part of the membership. “This is a win-win contract in what I believe was a no-win scenario,” said Ray Hodges, association president, on Wednesday afternoon. “We’re dealing with a poor, struggling economy and massive state-aid cuts by New York State. This contract represents a lot of give-and-take on both sides so that we could get to a place where both sides can win.” The deal includes providing teachers ”with a five percent pay increase over five years plus their step with a 0.45 percent increase in the first year of the contract,” according to a statement released by the school district on Wednesday morning. Unlike previous contracts, the new contract is for five years and expands the salary grid from the 14 steps to 19 steps. “The expanded salary grid will save the district money and the five year contract will allow for stability and cost management which will make the zero-based budgeting process more effective,” said Monroe-Woodbury School District Superintendent Ed Mehrhof in the statement. “The health care contribution will increase to the equivalent of an eight percent dollar value by the fifth year of the contract.” District officials said the average contribution for health care in the county is six percent. Hodges said he felt the contract was a fair one based on the current economic conditions. “It’s fair and reasonable to the community, to the taxpayers, to the school teachers and the district,” said Hodges, who, with his family, lives in Highland Mills. ”We all got a win out of it.” According to the district statement, the contract also includes no increase in the first three years of the contract for co-curricular stipends. Examples, said Hodges, are funds paid to teachers for serving as advisors to clubs or as sports coaches. However, teachers will get an increase of two percent in the fourth and fifth year of the contact. The new agreement also has no increases for longevity pay, which is defined as money paid annually and cumulatively based upon years of service in the bargaining unit, in fifth, 10th and 18th year. In the fourth year of the contract, there is a $250 increase for people at years 22 and 26. There is no increase in fifth year of the contract, according to the district. “The five-year contract had nothing to do with the economy,” Hodges, who teaches AP calculus, said. “It represents an expansion of the salary schedule in terms of the steps. It needed to be five years so people could move through the expanded salary schedule without being compromised.” In addition, there is “place holder language for the teachers’ annual professional performance review,” according to the district statement. The contract explains that 40 percent of a teacher’s evaluation will now be based on student assessments and is new language for the bargaining unit. Student achievement linked to teacher assessment is part of the Obama administration’s “Race to the Top” initiative, where New York State was recently named a recipient of $700 million in a competitive application process. Hodges characterized the negotiations as “very productive because we had a good outcome on both sides,” and thanked district officials and the board for “their hard work on behalf of the students and programming.” The length of the negotiations, he noted, was essentially as they have been in past contract talks. “It obviously wasn’t easy,” added Hodges. “There was a lot of creativity and thinking ‘outside the box’ to reach agreement. This represents a creative solution.”

Statement by the Monroe-Woodbury School Board
The Monroe-Woodbury Board of Education approved the teacher’s contract during their regular meeting on Tuesday night. The agreement provides the teachers with a five percent pay increase over five years plus their step with a 0.45 percent increase in the first year of the contract. The agreement is the lowest year-to-year increase for the county. Board President Dr. Michael DiGeronimo said that it was the collaborative efforts of the union and the administration that resulted in a fair contract that recognized the tough fiscal climate facing not only the district, but more importantly the hard-working taxpayers of our community.
Unlike previous contracts, the current contract is for five years and expands the salary grid from the 14 steps to 19 steps. Superintendent Ed Mehrhof said the expanded salary grid will save the district money and the five-year contract will allow for stability and cost management which will make the zero-based budgeting process more effective.
The health care contribution will increase to the equivalent of an 8 percent dollar value by the fifth year of the contract. “The average contribution for health care in the county is 6 percent, which is an indication of the teachers’ willingness to do their part in times of economic distress,” said board member Eleni Kikiras Carter. The contract also includes no increase in the first three years of the contract for co-curricular stipends and an increase of 2 percent in years four and five. The new agreement also has no increases for longevity pay, which is defined as money paid annually and cumulatively based upon years of service in the bargaining unit, in years 5, 10, and 18.
In year four of the contract, there is a $250 increase for people at years 22 and 26.
There is no increase in year five of the contract.
In addition to the financial components of the contract, there is place holder language for the teachers’ Annual Professional Performance Review. The contract explains that 40 percent of a teacher’s evaluation will be based on student assessments. This is new language for the bargaining unit.
Student achievement linked to teacher assessment is the Obama administration’s Race to the Top initiative, in which New York State was a recipient of $700 million.