Levittown teachers receive seven-year deal

After nearly three years, Levittown teachers have a contract again. The Board of Education unanimously approved the seven-year agreement at its April 15 meeting.

It is the second outstanding contract settled this year, as two months ago the Board of Education finalized a deal with the administrators’ union.

Levittown United Teachers, which represents approximately 600 teachers in 11 schools in the 7,200-student district, has been without a contract since July 1, 2012. During that time, teachers continued to receive their longevity-based step increases, however there will be no retroactive raises.

Over the next four years, teachers will receive raises of varying levels. On July 1, there will be a 2 percent raise for teachers. In each of the following two years, teachers will receive .85 percent increases, and a 1.64 hike in the final year of the contract.

The deal does slow down step increases. For each year a teacher is with the district, they typically move up a step, which is a higher salary figure. There will be no step movement in 2015-16, and teachers will not fully move up to the next level until July 2017.

There is again no step increase in July 2018, but the contract ends on June 30, 2019, with all eligible teachers moving up another level. Teacher salaries for next year will total just under $79 million, according to the district.

Superintendent Dr. Tonie McDonald said that the contract reflects the financial pressures facing the district, including the tax cap and unfunded mandates. “The teachers were very mindful of that, and we appreciated that,” she said. “It’s a very fair contract, I think, and it keeps us within the tax cap.”

Beginning next school year, elementary teachers may be required to work an additional five hours for professional development or extra help. They will have to spend up to 25 hours per year attending professional meetings or conferences, or helping students. The number rises to 30 hours per year in 2018.

Secondary level teachers will be required to provide an continuous 30 minutes of extra help per week for students, either before or after the school day.

Elementary teachers will be given a half-day within the last five days of the school year to complete paperwork.

McDonald said she is glad to have the contract finalized. The first-year superintendent said this was one of her priorities. She added that because negotiations are a distraction, the district and teachers decided to have the contact go through 2019. “We didn’t want to start negotiating in a couple of years,” she said. “We wanted to give it a little time.”

Negotiations are still continuing with the CSEA unit, which includes clerical staff, custodians and maintenance workers. They also have been without a contract for three years. McDonald said a deal could be reached by next month.

Retirement incentive

The Board of Education also approved a retirement incentive for teachers. The incentive only takes effect if at least 27 members of the union retire at the end of the school year.

Teachers would get $200 per day for each unused sick day during their time in Levittown, up to 180 days for a maximum one-time payout of $36,000. McDonald said that if enough teachers retire, it could reduce salary costs for the district.

The deadline to submit a retirement letter to the district would be June 5. The incentive was approved 6-1, with Trustee Michael Pappas the lone “no” vote.