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IRVINGTON, N.Y. The Irvington Union Free School District Board of Education unanimously approved a new contract with Irvington clerical staff Tuesday night after months of negotiation.
The contract covers the period between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2015. It is one of four contracts that the school district has been negotiating and the first agreement to be resolved.
I think it was a deal that was fair and yet something that benefits the district, said John Dawson, school board president.
The school board gave those involved in the negotiations a round of applause after Dawson announced that an agreement was reached.
The board did not discuss specifics of the agreement during or after the meeting, requesting that The Daily Tarrytown file a Freedom of Information Law request with the district. The memorandum agreement was later found on the school district's website on Wednesday.
The school district and clerical staff have agreed on slight salary increases through 2015, with no increases during the 2010-11 and 2011-12 years, a 1.5 percent increase during 2012-13, a two percent increase in 2013-14 and a 2.5 percent increase in 2014-15.
The agreement also adds a new health insurance provision, stating that full-time employees hired after July 1, 2011 must complete 20 years of service to be eligible for individual or two-person coverage into retirement. Retired employees have the option to cover additional costs for any dependents they want to include.
Clerical employees also agreed to pay certain percentages of their health insurance premiums for each year:
Between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2012, clerical staff will contribute five percent or $750 toward its premium, whichever is less.
Between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2013, clerical staff has agreed to pay 5 percent of its premium or $425 for individual coverage and $850 for family coverage, whichever is less.
Between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2014, clerical staff will pay 5.5 percent toward its premium or $475 for individual coverage and $950 for family coverage, whichever is less.
Between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015, clerical staff has agreed to contribute 6 percent toward its premium or $525 for individual coverage and $1,050 for family coverage, whichever is less.
According to the district, when it comes to payments in lieu of health insurance, the clerical staff has agreed that eligible full-time employees will receive 45 percent of its premiums after July 1, 2012 and 44 percent of its premiums after July 1, 2013 and 43 percent of its premiums after July 1, 2014.
The clerical staff have also agreed to give sole discretion to the school district to eliminate the $10,000 stipend associated with sub-calling and convert to an automated sub-calling system, if it wishes. If the district decides to do so, any extra work that the clerical staff would need to do with the sub-calling system outside its workday will be covered by an appropriate stipend.
The contract also creates a seven-step salary schedule for a 12-month community aide and adds the title of 10-month computer aide to the salary schedule for 10-month teacher aides.The contract also states that if an employee resigns to accept another position within the district or is laid-off and then reinstated within one year, the employee will continue to have the accrued leave that they earned in the previous position.
Dawson said he wanted to commend the people involved in the contract negotiations. He also thanked the clerical staff for its willingness to resolve negotiations.
I think that the clerical unit deserves a lot of kudos and thanks, Dawson said. They were the first ones to offer some assistance in last year's budget and the first ones to come to an agreement with us.
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