What stayed in, came out, or changed
The Tuxedo Teacher Association agreement with Tuxedo UFSD
Usually a contract is signed before it comes into effect. This year things worked a little differently as the Board of Education approved a MOA (Memorandum of Agreement) September 24, 2021, and actually, the Superindent, Mr. White, signed the agreement on August 23, 2021. The official Agreement between the Tuxedo Union Free School District and the Tuxedo Teachers Association—July 1, 2021-June 30, 2024 was signed March 8, 2022.
In the minutes from the Board of Education meeting on September 15, 2021, it states:
Action: 4.11 MOA Teachers Contract
BE IT RESOLVED that the Board hereby ratifies the terms of the Memorandum of Agreement between the District and the Tuxedo Teachers Association (“TTA”) dated August 23, 2021 setting forth the terms of a three year collective bargaining agreement effective July 1, 2021 and terminating on June 30, 2024; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board hereby ratifies the terms of a Supplemental Memorandum of Agreement between the District and the Tuxedo Teachers Association dated August 18, 2021, regarding certain terms and conditions of employment for the TTA bargaining unit; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board hereby authorizes the expenditure of those monies necessary to fund provisions of the 2021-24 Collective Bargaining Agreement between the District and the Tuxedo Teachers Association.
5 voted for; Daniel Castricone, Lucy Cerezo Scully, Bill Givens, Gary Heavner, and Alyssa Horneff
2 voted against; Joe Rickard and Dorothy Ziegelbauer
The important bit is this: BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board hereby authorizes the expenditure of those monies necessary to fund provisions of the 2021-24 Collective Bargaining Agreement between the District and the Tuxedo Teachers Association. Basically the Board approved paying raises and giving other increases that day forward, or maybe even retro active, before attaining a signed agreement between the District and the TTA bargaining unit. That is great for the TTA maybe not so much for the District.
Changes/Adjustments to note within the MOA
• Health Insurance increase of 1% contribution from 0%
• Sixth Class; teachers shall be paid $4,500 per semester, $9,000 full year
…… Greenwood Lake pays $5,000 per year
…… Monroe/Woodbury; no mention
…… Suffern; 1/5 of individual’s per Diem rate of pay
• Taking over an unassigned Class; $50 per class
…… Monroe/Woodbury; $57 per class
…… Suffern; 1/5 of individual’s per diem rate of pay
…… Warwick; $45 per class
• Deletion of Virtual High School
• Welfare Benefit increase to $1,340
…… Greenwood Lake increases to $1,265
• Sick Bank changes
• Extra-Curricular Pay changes
• Summer Curriculum Rate and Summer School
• Salary Increase; from 1.5% to 1.75%
…… Greenwood Lake increases to 2.5%
…… Monroe/Woodbury increases to 2%
…… Nanuet increases to 1.3%
…… Ramapo increases to between 1.0%-1.25%
…… Suffern increases to between 2.2%-2.4%
…… Warwick increases to between 1.25%-1.75%
• Longevity Increases
Questions that should be answered
• Why did it take so long to get a signed agreement? We know that as soon as April 1 continuing through to June of 2021, the District lawyer Mr. Shaw, Dr. Valenti, and Nicole Scariano were involved with the negotiations between the District and the TTA bargaining unit. It actually took an additional eight months to have a finalized agreement.
• Dr. Valenti was re-engaged during the July 14, 2021 Board meeting as the Consulting agreement was approved, specifically to finalize negotiations. He was paid about $13,000 for about twelve weeks and no agreement materialized. If Dr. Valenti could not get it done between April and June, what made the Board believe that he could accomplish this task within 12 weeks?
• The Board in this scenario represents the Tax Payer and the Student. The TTA bargaining unit represents the teachers. The Board opted to approve something before the final agreement was made, losing the bargaining power they held. Was this a good strategy?
Disclaimer
This data was compiled with the most recent Teacher Union contracts that could be found for surrounding districts. If a district was not noted, no data was found for that line item. I am not a professional contract reader or interpreter. These comparisons are to the best of my ability and should not be quoted as absolute.