District Agreement with Teachers' Association Protects Jobs, Saves Money
(April 19, 2012) On Tuesday, April 17, the
Ravena-Coyemans-Selkirk Superintendent of Schools and Board of Education
and the Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk Teachers’ Association reached an
agreement which extends the current Association contract by two years,
through June 30, 2015. The district will save approximately $300,000
over the course of the contract.
The district reopened negotiations with the teacher’s
union in consideration of the current budget challenges faced by RCS.
“We appreciate the union’s willingness to work with the district in
seeking creative solutions as we develop a difficult budget,” says
Superintendent of Schools Elisabeth Smith. “Providing a quality
education program for our students remains the top priority for RCS, and
this agreement will help us achieve that mission while still preserving
jobs and making education as affordable as possible for our community.”
The agreement establishes a half-year pay freeze for
Association members for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years.
For the two extended years of the contract, association members
will receive no salary increase above their step increase. In 2012-13
and in 2013-14, there will be no step movement for members on step and
no increases for members off step until the second half of the year.
This results in a half year salary freeze, which brings a savings to
District tax payers. Any members
who don’t receive step increases will receive a 2.5-percent increase.
Per the agreement, savings from this concession can only be used to
lower the 2012-13 tax levy increase or restore teaching positions;
monies cannot be put into fund balance or reserves.
In return for this concession, the district will cut no Association positions
from the 2012-13 school year budget, with the exception of a grade 5
teaching position at Pieter B. Coeymans Elementary School, which will be
lost through attrition.
In an effort to reduce the revenue responsibility for
taxpayers, the district elected to use the saving generated by the
agreement, a total of $130,000 for the 2012-13 school year, to offset
some of the anticipated tax levy increase.
The proposed $41,729,185 budget adopted by the
district on Tuesday reduces spending by $708,681, or 1.7 percent, from
the current school year, and would increase the tax levy by 6.8 percent,
a 0.5 percent decrease from the Board’s earlier projected tax levy
increase.
Voters will decide on the proposal at the polls on
May 15. Because the tax levy increase is within the district’s maximum
allowable tax levy of 8.6 percent, the support of a simple majority (50
percent + 1) is required for the budget to pass on May 15.
If the budget passes on May 15th, the agreement
with the association will be adopted as part of the teachers collectively
negotiated agreement. If the budget is defeated on May 15, the teachers
agreement will become null and void in all regards.
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