School Board & Teachers Union Reach Agreement on 4-Year
Contract
by Judy Silberstein
(July 2, 2003) Before adjourning for the summer,
the Mamaroneck School Board met one more time on Tuesday,
July
1 to elect
its officers,
take care of routine paperwork – and
to announce the successful completion of contract negotiations with the Teachers’ Union.
Negotiations have been going on quietly for months. Now all issues
have been resolved, though details have not yet been released.
“We’re pleased that we’ve reached agreement
with the Teachers’ Union and happy that this was accomplished
before the end of the school year,” declared Board
President Bob Martin.
Outgoing President of the Teachers’ Union Bob Ancowitz
was similarly pleased. “I’m happy that my successor
won’t have to begin the school year negotiating a contract,” he
said.
Ancowitz retired this June, after 8 years as union
head and 34 years as a Mamaroneck teacher at Central and
Hommocks. His successor is long-term high school English
teacher John Esposito.
The new contract is for four years (one year longer than
the last contract) and calls for raises in each year: 3%
in the first year, 3.2% for the next two years, and 3.4%
for the last year. The teachers’ calendar will be expanded
by two days for professional development. Most other changes
were minor, according to Ancowitz.
“My impression is that neither side got everything
they wanted, which is probably a sign of a successful negotiation,” he
concluded.
The School Board reelected Martin as President and elected
Celia Felsher as Vice-President and Alan Parter as Secretary
for the coming year.
The Board was also pleased at Superintendent Sherry King’s
report on the “extraordinary” results of the
Earth Science and Biology Regents exams. Almost every student
in eighth grade took the high school level earth science
course and almost every student passed the test. The same
was true with ninth graders and biology. (See: Mamaroneck
Students Succeed in Accelerated Science)
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