White Plains Teachers Set To Vote On New Contract
Members of the White Plains Teachers Association are set to vote on a new two-year contract, today, June 20. A Memorandum of Agreement between the White Plains Board of Education and the teacher’s union was approved, June 11 at the Board’s meeting and was presented to a full meeting of the teachers union the following day.
In a statement after the Board meeting, WPTA president Kerry Broderick said, “The agreement is the product of good conversation and the needs and parameters of both the district and the teachers. It is a fair contract.”
The new two-year contract, if accepted, begins July 1, 2017. Step Salary Levels, determined by professional degrees and educational credits earned, are increased 1 percent and all current teaching staff will be pushed to the next level in their next year, giving the teachers 3 percent to 5 percent more salary next year. This is an extra Step, which they were not eligible for in the previous contract.
New teachers will receive the 1 percent increase.
There are 20 Step Levels. A first-year teacher with a Bachelor’s degree will earn $56,161. A first-year teacher with a PhD will earn $79,321. At the 20th Step the Bachelor degree reaches $91,425 and the PhD $142,693 for 2018.
In 2019, a first-year teacher with a Bachelor’s degree will earn $56,723. A first-year teacher with a PhD will earn $80,114. At the 20th Step the Bachelor degree reaches $92,339 and the PhD $144,120.
Salary increases across academic levels in the Step system include: BA, BA+15, MA, MA+15, MA+30, MA+45, MA+60 PhD-Less, and PhD.
The proposed contract also increases the amount teachers will pay into their health insurance over the next two years from 13.5 percent to 14 percent, July 1, 2017 and 14.25 percent on July 1, 2018.
Currently the teacher contribution to a family insurance plan is $3,479 (single, $1,553). On July 1, 2018 the increase rate will be (family, $3,672; single $1,639).
Other elements of the proposed contract include more flexibility on Personal Days, an increase on the District’s contribution to unused Personal Days – three can be rolled over into sick time and paid for at $175/day in 2017-18 and $200/day in 2018-19.
Personal Days increased from three to five, annually.
The teachers are currently working under the Triborough Amendment, which prohibits a public employer from altering any provision of an expired labor agreement until a new agreement is reached. This will change if the teachers vote to accept the new contract, which provides higher salary increases under the Step process.
