Written by Elaine Cardea Monday, 23 January 2012
After almost three years of collective bargaining, the Irvington Union Free School District Board of Education and the Irvington Faculty Association (“IFA”) are pleased to announce that the parties have reached agreement on a seven-year contract, which runs retroactively from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2016.
Both parties worked very hard to deliver an agreement which provides for a fair and equitable deal for the IFA membership and a fiscally responsible contract for the taxpayers of this community, while simultaneously maintaining the outstanding educational program the Irvington community has grown accustomed to over the years. This settlement achieves those goals and allows Irvington to continue to provide a superior education experience for our children.
The details of the contract are as follows:
Base Wage and Increment Modifications to the Salary Schedule:
o 2009/10 – 2012/13: 0% increase, with a non-recurring payment of $1,500 for those staff members on the top step of the salary schedule in 2011/12; and a non-recurring payment of $2,750 for all staff members, as well as an increment “freeze” for the entire year in 2012/13;
o 2013/14: 1.75%, with the payment of increment delayed until February 1, 2014;
o 2014/15: 1.75%, with the payment of increment delayed until February 1, 2015;
o 2015/16: 1.75%.
Changes to Step Schedule:
o Addition of two “half-steps” to the existing salary schedule without increasing the top step salary. This permanent structural change will increase the time it takes for teachers to reach the top step of the salary schedule.
Employee Contributions for Health Insurance:
o Increases from 10% to 15% over the life of the agreement;
o A reduction in the health insurance buyout from 50% of the savings to 40% of the savings over the life of the agreement.
Changes to Column Movement:
o A revised approval process clarifying course credits that may be taken, and subsequently applied, for column movement across the salary schedule;
o A reduction in the number of instances an individual may move across the salary schedule from two times per year to one time per year;
Irvington School Board Member Robert Grados, speaking on behalf of the Board, commented, “We believe this is an outstanding contract for the District and for our teachers. We would like to publicly thank James Groven, Corinne Daniels and the other members of the IFA negotiation team for their hard work and commitment to hash out an agreement that recognizes the financial challenges that the District is facing now and in the future. The Board is thrilled to have this completed.”
IFA President, James Groven added, “It was a pleasure to negotiate with a board that values teachers and education. I'd also like to thank our membership for their overwhelming support during this protracted process.”
The Irvington Board of Education will be voting on the ratification of this agreement on Monday, January 23rd in a Special Public Board meeting at 7:00 am, which will be held in the District Offices, adjacent to the Dows Lane Elementary School.
Community member comments should be forwarded to boardmembers@irvingtonschools.org prior to this vote.
Once completed, the full agreement may be viewed at www.irvingtonschools.org.
