Is there an update on a potential pay freeze for staff?

Question: I am wondering what came of the BOE and the Superintendent, meeting with the  bargaining units, concerning a pay freeze for 2011/2012? Were the attempts again unsuccessful?

As a tax payer, I can confidently say there are many many residents of Broadalbin who absolutley do not want the BOE to make any deals with the bargaining units, unless they are ethical and are 100% in the best interest of the school and tax payers. If the BPTA is not strongly pushed by their union members to accept a 100% pay freeze for 2011/2012, with no stipulations, then more teachers should be terminated, raise the number of children in the classrooms, do what we need to do. As tax payers we need to stand together on this; the teachers are not budging! I would strongly appreciate this being posted on the tax payer funded Plain Talk.
-submitted by Kellie Whitman

Answer: Mrs. Whitman, thank you for your message. The Board of Education and BPTA were unable to arrive at a cost saving agreement that would serve the interests of the district and its taxpayers. Negotiations are under way with the CSEA that we hope will lead to a successful contract ratification in the next week.

It is the firm position of the board that all employees must continue the primary function of the district - education - to the best of their abilities within the budget we've attempted to produce. Maintaining professional decorum is essential to this task as hundreds of people must work together. Such decorum and successful cooperation are less likely if the object pursued is retribution (firing more teachers for not taking a freeze).

It may be impossible to avoid emotional responses in times of stress. However, we ask you to please keep in mind that the students will bear the cost of actions by the adults. Let us not compound those costs.

The current system of negotiations between school districts and unions is broken and inherently adversarial; this damages professional relationships and (clearly) relationships with the community. It is our keen desire that the education of students not be adversely affected too.

I repeat a previously stated sincere request that energy be directed toward advocating for reform of the laws that govern public sector employment, like the Taylor Law. Only such reforms can change the nature of employer/employee relationships in New York state and lead to substantial changes in the way business is done in school districts. The Board must operate within these rules, provide for the education of students, and be accountable to taxpayers.

Where we have failed we ask your continued patience; we're attempting to overcome a broken system. Where we have succeeded we ask your support.
-answered by Ed Szumowski, Board of Education Vice President

Employee salary questions

Question: What percentages of salary increases do employees typically receive each year and who determines the raise amounts? Are salary increases determined by the administration, BOE or are there state mandates? In a time where so many taxpayers are being asked to forego raises and tighten their budgets, I agree that staff salary freezes are a legitimate request from the community, especially since staff salaries are a matter of public record and many are much higher than the average taxpayer salary.


Answer: The Board of Education negotiates contracts with the district’s four collective bargaining units. None of the salaries are negotiated year to year. Rather, contracts typically cover an average of three years.

There is a state law, called the Triborough Amendment, which guarantees teachers receive at least a “step” in their pay if they are working without a contract. This law does not apply to the other unions in the district.

Since Mr. Tomlinson was hired in January 2008, he has taken a pay freeze during the 2008-09 and 2010-11 school years. The district Business Administrator Marco Zumbolo also took a pay freeze during the 2008-09 school year.
-answered by Stephen Tomlinson, District Superintendent

Contract negotiations

Question: Will the Board of Education make public their "threshold" limits on topics such as salary schedules and both pre- and post-retirement benefit packages in regards to the labor contract negotiations prior to the negotiations taking place in, I believe, 2012?

Answer: No -- this would be against the law. Negotiations with all labor unions are confidential and are conducted in closed sessions.

Typically, negotiations begin sixth months before a contract is scheduled to expire. The contract you're referring to is the Broadalbin-Perth Teachers' Association's (BPTA) contract, which expires at the end of the school's fiscal year, on June 30, 2012. The district plans to have legal council that specializes in labor negotiations negotiate this contract -- something that has not been done in the past.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, District Superintendent

Suggestions for savings on staffing costs

Question: How about not giving raises, especially to administration, considering that they make very good salaries as it is? Also, do we really need assistant principals and assistant superintendents? And how about cutting some benefits, such as health care, or making employees pay a bit more for copays?

Answer: Earlier this year, district leaders asked each employee union to consider taking a one-year pay freeze, and told union leaders that the district would not institute a pay freeze unless all unions agreed to accept it. This decision came from a desire for fairness: It would not be right for some district employees to receive a raise while others did not. Although not all unions agreed, the administrators' union was one that offered to freeze their salaries for one year.
 

Budget Area 4: Employee Compensation

During the final Community Roundtable, which took place on Monday, March 8, participants discussed each area of the school budget and made recommendations to the Board of Education regarding which programs and services could be cut and which should be maintained. In order to keep the conversation going, we invite readers to post their thoughts on the following question that was presented to participants at the Community Roundtable. (Click here to read a PDF document that outlines the steps taken so far in the budget development process.)

During the fourth Community Roundtable in January, participants discussed topics related to employee compensation. Some of the participants’ most common recommendations were:

• Our schools are already operating at a bare minimum and any further cuts will directly affect our students’ education and competitive edge upon graduation.
• B-P teachers work hard and do valuable work with the students, but the community can’t take another large tax increase.
• Parents are worried about cuts in art, music, the Intermediate School science program, and high school electives, especially elective classes that carry the potential to earn college credit.
• The district should offer better retirement/early retirement incentives.
• The district can’t cut so many teachers that test scores and graduation rates drop.

Consolidating services

Question: I went away from the Community Roundtable on employee compensation very informed. I hope that we can look at consolidating services where appropriate - perhaps bringing in an outside vendor to run our food service program?

Answer: I'm glad you found the latest Community Roundtable informative. We're always trying to find the most cost-effective ways of doing business, and we have explored the possibility of bringing in an outside vendor to run our food service program. However, we are bound by certain contractual obligations, and we found that bringing in an outside vendor would not necessarily be a cost-saving measure.
- answered by Stephen Tomlinson, District Superintendent

Employee Compensation Roundtable: Staff Cuts & School Taxes

The Community Roundtable on employee compensation that was held on Monday, Jan. 11, included lively discussion on a variety of topics. In order to keep the conversation going, we invite readers to post their thoughts on the following question that was presented to participants at the Community Roundtable. Click here to read notes on what was discussed at the Community Roundtable.

Broadalbin-Perth is in the middle of another difficult budget year in which tough decisions must be made. At this time last year, district administrators and the Board of Education informed the public that staff cuts would be likely in order to offset rising costs of operations and reduce the local tax levy. One full-time administrator position and four full-time teaching positions were eliminated at the end of the 2008-09 school year.