BC News

Board of education approves teachers contract extension with concessions

Release Date: May 22, 2009

At its meeting on May 20, the Board of Education approved a renegotiated teachers contract that provides for a two-year extension and more than half a million dollars in taxpayer savings through union concessions next year.

Board approval was the final step in ratifying the agreement, which extends the district’s contract with the Bethlehem Central Teachers Association (BCTA) through the 2011-12 school year.

The main element of $600,000 in projected savings next year is a four-month deferral of a scheduled cost-of-living increase. Other provisions in the extended contract that will yield savings next year and beyond are moratoriums on sabbaticals and professional development stipends, a freeze on coaching salaries and a retirement incentive.

District officials and BCTA leaders announced the tentative agreement in late April. On May 5, the Bethlehem Central Teachers Association approved the renegotiated contract.

“I’m proud that in this difficult economic climate we have persevered, along with our teachers, through some tough conversations to produce some very real savings for taxpayers and stability for the district with regard to our largest budgetary obligation,” Board President James Lytle said.

“No side is ever fully satisfied coming out of a negotiation, but this deal is fair and appropriate given the times,” Mr. Lytle added. “Our community rightly expects the district to attract and retain the best educators we can find, and for all of us to work together provide quality education as cost-effectively as we can. This agreement meets that expectation.”

Because the Board adopted the proposed 2009-10 budget before the votes on the contract agreement, the $600,000 in savings for next year was not factored into the budget that voters approved on May 19. The budget calls for a tax rate increase of 1.76 percent, with the use of $861,000 fund balance. District officials see the $600,000 in savings as an opportunity to restore a large portion of this planned use of fund balance, which would strengthen the district’s financial position as it heads into future budget years that are expected to be at least as difficult as this year.

A series of provisions in the amended contract for 2010-11 – the first of two years extending the contract – also represent cost containment. These include another deferral of a cost-of-living increase (3 months); a continuation of coaching salary freeze; a partial moratorium on sabbaticals; and reduced professional development and fringe benefit costs.

In the final year of the extended contract, 2011-12, negotiators set a 2 percent floor on the cost-of-living increase, with the stipulation that it could increase half a percentage point more if the economy improves by then. Pegging this cost-of-living increase to economic conditions, as measured by the inflationary rate, gave negotiating teams the confidence to add a crucial second year to the contract extension.

The district also stands to save several hundred thousand dollars as a result of a retirement incentive included in the renegotiated contract. The goal of the incentive is for teachers at the upper end of the salary schedule to retire, saving the district as it hires newer teachers at the opposite end of the pay scale.

The average effective salary increase in the final three years of the contract is 4.46 percent, which is more than a full percentage point below the average in the original contract.

In a presentation on the contract extension to the Board, Dr. Tebbano noted that he first approached the union leadership about re-opening the current contract last November, and that talks continued over the next several months.

“I am very pleased that we have reached this point in partnership with our teachers,” Dr. Tebbano said. “This agreement will strengthen our financial position as we continue to navigate the present economic uncertainty, which we know is affecting families, businesses and all levels of government. This speaks highly of the dedication of our teachers to the community and their students, and our ability as a district to work together and rise to the occasion in times of difficulty.”

The district and its teachers reached a four-year deal on the original contract in September 2006. Including the two-year extension, the contract will expire on June 30, 2012.

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