West Hempstead teachers, Board of Ed hold second mediated session

Following rallies by West Hempstead teachers working without a contract since June 2009, the West Hempstead Educators Association met with the district school board last week in a five-hour mediated session to negotiate a potential teachers’ contract.

No agreements or settlements were made, according to WHEA President Barbara Hafner, who called the lack of progress “frustrating.” The association did, however, present the board with a proposal that the board agreed to review and discuss toward the end of October, Hafner said.

“It was very intense,” Hafner said. “Negotiations is not a pleasant experience. … Once you get to the point where your contract has expired … it gets intense. It’s no longer a matter of figuring out how to solve this so that you can say ‘We’re in agreement and this is where we’re going to go forward.’ It’s always a battle at this point. There’s no pleasantries.”

In response to a request for comment, School Board President Pam Lotito would only say there is no settlement yet and that she would attempt to provide the Herald with more detailed information later in the week.

The school board declared an impasse in March, listing a number of unresolved issues that contributed to the standstill, including length of contract, salaries, staff development, grievance procedures, teacher assistant and severance and retirement benefits, among other things. It asked for state intervention in the form of a mediator who has, so far, met twice with both parties — once in May and again last week.

When it declared an impasse, the board had detailed issues with salary proposals, noting that WHEA’s increase proposals, when coupled with step increases and added over the course of three years, will total 15 percent. The board, on the other hand, proposed no increase for the present year, a 2 percent increase for 2010-2011 and “a modest increase” in the 2011-2012 school year, all in addition to step increases. To clarify, it noted that some 70 percent of WHEA members received about $415,000 in contractual increases during the present school year due to salary step increases and the acquisition of additional educational credits.

The BoE had also noted that all district-level and building administrators voluntarily froze their salaries during the 2009-2010 school year.

Information regarding the newest proposals and counter-proposals was not immediately available.

Hafner hopes that the board will come to some sort of agreement when it meets on Oct. 19 and that shortly thereafter negotiations will be completed.

“I’m a full-time teacher. I have sixth graders and they are my priority and I want to do everything for my class,” Hafner said. “Yeah I ended up being president of the union, but my job are my students. So when we get to this point … it’s disheartening.”