New Haven Public Schools has settled salaries for teachers less than a month out from the start of school.
The Board of Education voted unanimously on Monday to approve amendments to teachers’ contracts that put off a pay bump expected this year in exchange for three years of protection from layoffs, involuntary transfers and rising medical costs.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank [teachers union Presient] Dave Cicarella for his tireless work. These are difficult times and he has done everything a forward-thinking union leader would do to help this community,” said Edward Joyner, who was the only board member to comment on the contract after the vote.
Most of the conversation about the board’s agreement with Local 933, the New Haven Federation of Teachers, happened in a private virtual meeting room on Monday.
The agreement extends the existing Local 933 contract for two more years. It trades off a pay bump that NHPS administrators have said is straining the district’s budget for protections that teachers have asked for.
The contract would step teachers up the salary schedule for two years after this year’s pay freeze.
Union members voted 970 – 246 in favor of the tradeoff.
Read the contract that the board approved here. Read teacher perspectives on the new contract here.
Given everything that's going on in schools, and all the heat teachers are taking because they want the safety precautions in place that the district said would be in place for day 1, but won't be there, isn't it funny that nobody has made any comments on this story in 48 hours?
The state didn't give an extra $4.5M. The residents of New Haven didn't give an extra $4.5M . The money didn't come from grants. No other bargaining unit gave back $4.5 million.
Teachers literally give back $4.5million dollars to the city coffers that they were CONTRACTED to receive this year .... crickets
Teachers ask the district of to actually follow the plan they submitted to the state to preserve the safety of students, staff, and NHPS families ... they're selfish, entitled, "not altruistic" (I love that one —in what vocation do you get railed on because you're "not altruistic?"), they're lazy, they did a terrible job (working under emergency circumstances making up brand new classroom structures out of their homes with no training).
But voluntarily give up $4.5 million dollars because for whatever reason, the budgets weren't funded?
Silence