On Tuesday, Oct. 18, the Port Washington Board of Education approved a new contract with the Port Washington Teachers Association, which union members had previously ratified, effective July 1, 2016 through June 30, 2020.
Weisburd, Alan Baer and Emily Beys; front row: Vice President Nora Johnson,
President Karen Sloan and Superintendent Dr. Kathleen Mooney
This agreement represents the mutual respect and trust that has been established over the years between the board of education, administration, the PWTA and the teachers.
“Throughout this process, both parties remained respectful of one another, mindful of the increasingly scarce fiscal resources available to our district and aware of the need to minimize the financial impact to taxpayers,” said Board of Education President Karen Sloan. “This agreement demonstrates our ability to acknowledge and appreciate our outstanding teachers within the reasonable limits of a conservative budget.”
The main features of the contract include:
- A zero percent salary schedule increase for the 2016-17 school year. This is the third consecutive year in which the salary schedule has remained unchanged.
- A one-half percent salary schedule increase for the 2017-18 school year.
- A one-quarter percent salary schedule increase for the 2018-19 school year.
- A one-half percent salary schedule increase for the 2019-20 school year.
- The employee health contribution will increase to 21 percent of premium in 2018-19 and 22 percent of premium in 2019-20. This employee contribution level is among the highest in Nassau County.
- The health insurance declination rebate will be based on 33.3 percent of the individual premium for all teachers who decline coverage instead of 37.5 percent of the family premium.
- The annual Summer Study Grant will be eliminated.
- A teacher’s column movement will be limited to one column per school year.
- The quantity of available annual paid leave for newly hired teachers will be reduced by five days during their first four years of employment.
- The length of time for which unpaid childcare leave is available will be reduced.
- There will be the addition of a $1,000 longevity payment after 29 years of service to the district and the creation of new steps where none previously existed at 19 years and 24 years, respectively.
- After a five-year freeze, there will be an increase in the annual per-teacher contribution to the Benefit Trust by $20 in 2018-19 and by an additional $20 in 2019-20.
- The 183-day teacher work year, which has been in place since 2013, will become permanent.
The board of education and administration look forward to continued collaboration with the PWTA to the benefit of our students and our community.
