Are contract negotiations coming up?

Question: Now that the vote has come and gone and the Board has chosen to adopt a contingency budget, I would like to know:

A. When is the teacher's contract is up?
B. When do negotiations commence on the new contract?
C. How does the process of negotiations occur (is the whole board involved, or a few members from a committee?)
D. How restricted is the board in negotiating because of NYS law?
(as evidence of the thoroughly defeated budget, and the fact that teacher salaries and benefits constitute such a large portion of the budget, I feel it is imperative the board use this opportunity to reign in spending of teacher salaries to the best of its ability come time for the next contract.)

Answer: A. The teachers' contract expires at the end of June 2012.
B. Negotiations on a new contract will begin in Fall of 2011.
C. A subcommittee of the Board of Education will work with the superintendent, business administrator and the district's legal counsel to negotiate the new contract.
D. The Board of Education must abide by the Taylor Law and the Triborough Amendment. For information about the Taylor Law, click here.