Schools
Tuckahoe Teachers and School Board Strike Four-Year Deal
Annual raise will average 1.25 percent and teachers will pay more for health benefits.
The Board signed off on a memorandum of agreement with the teachers union Monday night for a new four-year contract effective July 1.
In a statement Tuesday, district officials call the contract “fiscally responsible and academically focused.”
The new contract includes an average pay raise of 1.25 percent over the next four school years. Teachers will receive no contractual raise in 2011-12, but the annual raise will gradually increase to 2.5 percent in 2014-15, coming out to the 1.25 percent average.
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Individual teachers will still receive step raises based on years of experience.
Teachers will be required to contribute more each year toward their health and dental premiums. Currently, teachers pay for 10 percent of their health benefits, but the percentage will rise to 12 percent under the first year of the new contract and reach 17 percent in 2014-15.
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The length of a teacher’s workday is not to exceed seven hours under the agreement. Teachers will have at least eight preparation periods a week, and one lunch period each day free of any duties. Teachers will also have at least two common planning periods each week, and one period a month for union business.
The contract also increases teachers’ number of contractual workdays from 182 to 183, “to formulate professional development for one additional conference day for teachers.”
Tuckahoe Teachers Association and school district negotiators began meeting in January and completed the memorandum of agreement in April, according to the district statement.
“Our association and board of trustees concluded a positive and fair agreement that benefits our students, our school, our teachers and our community,” the statement reads.