Press Release Concerning Teachers' Contract

I thought it was important to get this out there, so I am posting in advance of my meeting notes being complete (which may take all week, because there are 3 girls' soccer games this week).

JOINT PRESS RELEASE

By

Octorara Area School District Board of Directors

And

Octorara Area Education Association

The Octorara Area School District Board of Directors voted on Monday, October 17, 2011 to approve an agreement with the Octorara Area Education Association. The agreement was ratified the previous week by the membership of the Octorara Area Education Association which represents two hundred one teachers, counselors and education specialists. Upon ratification by the Board of Directors, Adam Udell, representing the Association came forward to officially notify the public of the Association’s ratification of the agreement. The agreement is for the three year period starting July 1, 2011 and ending June 30, 2014.

The agreement calls for the following conditions related to salary and benefits:

Salary:
          2011-12 Wage Freeze (No Movement On Salary Schedule)
          2012-13 1% Salary Increase Plus Movement For Seniority
          2013-14 1% Salary Increase Plus Movement For Seniority

Two items related to salary include the narrowing of types of courses that will be approved for course reimbursement and the restriction of movement on the salary schedule to one step every two years.

Benefits:

2011-12 Change In Medical Plan*
               Change In Prescription Plan*

*These changes reduce the District cost by increasing fees at the point of care for Association members.

2012-13 Increase In Health Benefit Premiums**

**These increases change contributions for an average Association member from approximately 3.5% to 8% for single coverage and 11% for family coverage.

The agreement is the result from ten months of hard work by the two parties, including fourteen face-to-face meetings and at least as many separate meetings by both parties amounting to over one hundred hours of deliberation by the negotiating teams. Both parties took the time to listen to the concerns of the other party while building trust and finding areas of compromise in an atmosphere of mutual respect. The Board of Directors and the Association believe this product, arrived at in this fashion, will benefit the students, families and tax payers of the Octorara Area School District.