Downtown Alderwoman Bitsie Clark called it “something of a miracle.”
Clark joined a unanimous vote by the Board of Aldermen on Thursday night to approve a four-year collective bargaining agreement between the Board of Education and the local teachers’ union.
The contract, coming at the start of a school reform initiative in New Haven, has received national attention, including a shout-out Wednesday by President Obama and by Ned Lamont in his first gubernatorial campaign speech Thursday. The contract gave the teachers pay increases in return for new flexibility in work rules to pave the way for school reform initiatives; national union and government leaders are hailing it as a model for other cities.
Aldermen also heard a proposal Thursday night to accept a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant, which will help to write other grants, represents an important recognition from a world-class funding source, said Assistant School Superintendent Garth Harries.
West River Alderman Yusuf Shah presented the teacher’s contract agenda item to the board on Thursday night. Shah is the head of the Finance Committee, which last week recommended the measure for approval.
The new contract provides modest wage and benefits increases, Shah said. “Most significant is the inclusion of language requiring school reform initiatives,” he said. The contract will help to New Haven “become the most successful urban district in the country,” he said.
Yale Alderwoman Rachel Plattus stood to praise the contract as a collaboration of local, state, and national leaders.
“This is a historic vote,” said Clark, rising next. “This is one of the most exciting things that any of us will have a chance to vote on … It’s something of a miracle.”
The measure passed unanimously. Alderwoman Katrina Jones abstained. She is one of three aldermen employed by the Board of Education. Aldermen Charles Blango and Michelle Edmunds-Sepulveda, the other two, were not present.
After the meeting, Mayor DeStefano released a statement about the contract approval.
“We are pleased by the unanimous support of the New Haven Board of Aldermen and applaud their efforts toward making New Haven the best urban school district in the nation … This new contract positions us, our schools, teachers and administrators to implement aggressive school reform initiatives that will catapult our schools to new levels of students achievement. Tonight’s vote demonstrates that we’ve not only made student success a priority for the Board of Education but that this is truly a Citywide priority.”
A Pre-Grant Grant
Thursday’s agenda also included a proposal to approve the receipt of an $82,500 grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. That matter will be voted on at a future meeting.
The city won the grant last week, said Harries. The money will be used to apply for future grants aimed to increase collaboration between district and charter schools in New Haven. “To leverage district and charter experiences,” Harries put it.
“It’s planning money to prepare for a fuller, Investing In Innovation application,” he said. The Investing In Innovation Fund is a grant program through the U.S. Department of Education, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The Gates grant will “support some grant writing and programmatic planning,” Harries said. “It’s a pre-grant grant.”
“It’s the first time the Gates Foundation has invested here,” he said. “We’re excited that the Gates Foundation has made an opening investment.”
“It’s a concrete recognition that exciting things are happening in New Haven from the world’s biggest education foundation,” Harries said.
The money may encourage the Gates Foundation, and other funders, to give more, he said later. “Startup money is the most important money that a business gets.”