Board of Ed OKs Biggest Item in the Town Budgets for Each of the Next Three Years

Under the next labor union agreement between Darien teachers and the school district, which hasn’t received final town approval, the town’s total bill for teachers’ wages would rise 3.4 percent in each of the next three fiscal years, from July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2020.

The first vote to approve a Darien teachers labor union contract already has been taken by the Board of Education at its Nov. 9 meeting. The contract also will need approval from the town Board of Finance and Representative Town Meeting.

A lot of information about the new contract, along with an administrators’ union contract passed together with it (and which would start at the same time but end a year later, on June 30, 2021), has not yet been released by either the Board of Education or Darien Public Schools officials, including estimates of either the total cost of the increases or the overall total cost of the salaries and benefits in the contracts.

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At the bottom of this article is the video of the Board of Education meeting, where the contracts were discussed and voted on in 3 minutes, 20 seconds.

Also at the bottom are the full texts of two district memorandums about the contracts and an image showing that part of the minutes of the Nov. 9 meeting.

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The Board of Education discussed no details of the agreement when they voted to approve it at the board’s regular public meeting on Nov. 9. The members did not mention the cost of the contract to the town, either for the total years or in any particular year, or say what increases teachers or administrators would receive.

On Wednesday afternoon, at the request of Darienite.com, Schools Superintendent Dan Brenner released memorandums describing two labor union contracts. As of Nov. 9, the exact language of each of the contracts was still being worked out.

Members of both unions had already voted to ratify the agreements, and with hardly any public discussion and with no details of either contract being made public, the Board of Education voted to approve each contract.

The teachers contract will be the single biggest item in the three town budgets between July 1, 2017 and June 30, 2020.

Neither the memorandums nor any statements from school district officials or the Board of Education indicated the total cost of the contract, but when Superintendent Dan Brenner issued his proposal for the 2016-2017 budget, asking the town for $94.2 million, he said 64 percent of it (roughly $60 million) would go toward paying employee salaries. Teachers make up the overwhelming majority of district employees.

In most recent years, Darien school district budgets usually amount to about 70 percent of the town government’s entire budget. In 2012, when the RTM approved the education budget, the teacher’s contract made up more than a quarter of all town government spending for the upcoming 2012-2013 fiscal year.

Watch the Board of Education Three-Minute, 20-Second Discussion

This video of the meeting shows the very brief discussion of the two contracts, which starts at the 1:16:30 mark and ends at 1:19:49, about three minutes later:

Board of Education 11-9-16 from Darien TV79 on Vimeo.

School District Memorandums About Each Contract

Here is the full text of each document. As given to Darienite.com by the Superintendent’s Office on Wednesday afternoon, neither is dated. “GWI” appears to stand for “gross wage increases.”

Teachers Union Contract

Re: Summary of the 2017 – 2020 DEA [Darien Education Association] Contract Settlement

I. Duration

The new contract is for three years, July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2020.

II. Salary

As set forth in the attached spreadsheets, the salary schedule will be restructured, effective July 1, so that the increase between steps in each column remains relatively constant. In addition, the top step will be eliminated so as to decrease the growing gap between the penultimate and ultimate steps in each column. The total projected cost of the restructuring in Year 1 of the contract is 3.4%.

In the second year of the contract teachers not yet at the maximum shall receive step movement with a GWI of .18%. There will be no GWI at Steps 15 – 19, Step 3 will increase by 1% and those at the maximum step will receive a 1.27% GWI. The total projected cost in Year 2 of the contract is 3.4%.

In the third year of the contract teachers not yet at the maximum shall receive step movement with a GWI of .18%. Steps 18 and 19 will receive a .60% GWI, Steps 3 and 4 will receive a 1% GWI and Step 5 will receive a .30% GWI. Those at the maximum step will receive a 1.38% GWI. No other steps will receive a GWI in this year. The total projected cost in Year 3 of the contract is 3.4%.

The new contract will contain a Memorandum of Understanding that changes the course load for any teacher who currently teaches four classes at the middle and high schools (other than science teachers who teach lab courses) so that they may be assigned to an average of 4.5 classes each year. This provision will be implemented by attrition, not position elimination.

III. Extracurricular Stipends

The extracurricular stipends will also be restructured to ensure that the people performing in certain stipended areas are compensated adequately for the work performed. The cost of this restructuring in Year 1 of the contract produces a net increase of $9,000. This will constitute the new base for extracurricular stipends. These new stipends shall be increased as follows:

• 2017 – 2018   2%
• 2018 – 2019   2%
• 2019 – 2020   2%

IV. Insurance

• 2017 – 2018 Increase deductible to $2250/$4500
• 2018 – 2019 Increase deductible to $2500/$5000
• 2019 – 2020 Increase premium cost sharing to 21%

V. Contract Hourly Rates

• Homebound Tutoring — $55.00/hour
• Extended School Year Teaching — $65.00/hour
• Speech and Language Pathologists/Psychologists — $75.00/hour
• Other Professional Projects $45.00/hour (e.g., writing and revision of curriculum, Units of study, assessment, district-required Professional development outside the work year)

VI. Language Issues:

— Codification of the preparation time currently offered to teachers.

— The Board will schedule 0.2 release time for any DEA president who is not an elementary classroom teacher.

— Teachers will be reimbursed for travel expenses related to out-of-district professional development and conferences sponsored by the Board of Education

— Should a teacher exhaust sick leave after suffering a catastrophic illness (as determined by the Superintendent in consultation with the DEA president), such teacher may receive up to an additional 30 days of sick leave as donated by other teachers, who may each donate 2 sick days

— Bereavement days will be granted separately from personal leaves; teachers will be granted 5 days for a death in the immediate family.

— Personal days are reduced from 5 to 3 days per year

— The Sabbatical Award Program is eliminated

—Teachers who are assigned to cover a class during their scheduled preparation time will receive a stipend of $30 a class

— The tuition reimbursement provision is modified as follows:

• A fund of $50,000 is established for this purpose (increased from $30,000)
• Teachers will be reimbursed $300 per credit hour (increased from $150)
• Teachers may be reimbursed for a maximum of 6 credits each year.

VII. Reopener

Either party may reopen negotiations if the cost of the plan is expected to result in the triggering of an excise tax under the Affordable Care Act or if there is any substantial or material increase of the cost of the insurance

 

Administrators Union Contract

Re: Summary of the 2017 – 2021 DAA [Darien Administrators Association] Contract Settlement

I. Duration

The new contract is for four years, July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2021.

II. Salary

The salary schedule will be increased as follows (There are no steps in this contract.):

• 2017 – 2018 2.25% GWI
• 2018 – 2019 2.25% GWI
• 2019 – 2020 2.25% GWI
• 2020 – 2021 2.50% GWI

The salary for the Program Directors will be benchmarked at the level of Assistant Director of Special Education (12 months) in accordance with the current contract.

The work year for the Elementary Assistant Principals will be increased from 190 to 197 days, with payment for the additional days calculated using the administrator’s per diem rate.

III. Insurance

There will be a reopener on insurance issues if there is a change in the DEA insurance benefits either through negotiations or arbitration, and if there is a reopener with the DEA during their successor agreement upon request of the Board.

A pro rata portion of an administrator’s accrued sick days will be used to supplement amounts paid under the administrator’s long term disability policy so that the administrator will collect his/her entire salary. This provision is subject to confirmation with the insurance carrier that such payments are allowable under the terms of the district’s long term disability policy.

IV. Stipend

An administrator who accompanies students on an overnight field trip will be paid a stipend of $100 per night.

An administrator who has earned a Doctoral degree will receive an annual stipend of $1,000.

V. Language Issues

Only administrators employed prior to July 1, 2017 will receive additional vacation days upon completion of three years of service as an administrator in the district.

The number of vacation days that an administrator may carry over from year to year is reduced from 15 to 10. If an administrator is unable to use any vacation days that are carried over to the next year, the administrator will be compensated at the administrator’s per diem rate. The Superintendent must direct the administrator to work rather than use the vacation days.

Administrators will accrue 18 sick days each year. This is an increase from 15 days. The contract will be revised to add Reduction in Force provisions within the following four groups:

• Elementary Principals
• Elementary Assistant Principals
• Secondary Assistant Principals
• Special Education Program Directors