BUFFALO TEACHER FEDERATION CONTRACT COMPETITIVE COMPENSATION The - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

BUFFALO TEACHER FEDERATION CONTRACT COMPETITIVE COMPENSATION The BTF Contract that was ratified on October 17, 2017 increased teacher salaries to • competitive levels over a three year period (September 1, 2016-June 30, 2019) by 14% (10%, 2%, and 2%). Teachers had not had a new contract since 1999 and had not received a raise since July 1, 2003. These increases represent less than 1% per year when you consider the fact that the Contract covers the time period of July 1, 2004 until June 30, 2019 (15 years). There was no retroactivity included in the agreement. As a result, no increases were provided • to teachers between July 1, 2004 and September 1, 2016. By starting new teachers on Step 2, we substantially increased the starting salary to make • Buffalo more competitive with the region’s other Districts, charter schools, and non-public schools. The amount of time teachers are paid full wages and benefits for being injured on the job as a • result of a non-assault was reduced from two (2) years to one (1) year. 1

BUFFALO TEACHER FEDERATION CONTRACT HEALTH INSURANCE REFORMS The cosmetic rider was eliminated for active employees. • Active employees agreed to contribute to health insurance for the first time. Teachers now • contribute $600 per year for an individual plan and $1500 per year for a family plan. In addition to active employees agreeing to contribute to health insurance for the first time, • retirees now contribute more toward health insurance upon retirement. For retirees, it was increased from $450(single)/$900(family) to $650 (single)/$1500 (family). Co-Pays for doctor visits was increased from $5 to $15. Co-Pays for prescription drugs was • increased from $5/$10 to $10/$25. 2 10

BUFFALO TEACHER FEDERATION CONTRACT LEARNING TIME EQUITY The District increased educational learning time and equity for students. The District previously • had the shortest school day at 6 hours and 50 minutes, and work year at 186 days, in Western New York. The day has been extended to 7 hours and 15 minutes and the school year has been increased to 188 days. MANAGEMENT PREROGATIVES An athletic coaching committee was created to discuss the hiring and evaluation process for • coaches. This committee has met on four occasions and is making substantial progress toward reforming the way coaches are hired and evaluated. For example, the committee is moving in the direction of hiring coaches based on qualifications as opposed to seniority. 3 10

BUFFALO TEACHER FEDERATION CONTRACT Despite not being able to reform seniority based preferences in this contract, the District • currently has the ability to hire the most qualified teachers and the ability to move poor performing teachers at its receivership schools. The management prerogatives the District has in receivership are being tested and the data collected will be used to make necessary changes in future negotiations. The District obtained the ability to change the starting and ending times at all schools for • the 18-19 school year for the purpose of obtaining savings in transportation costs. There is a real possibility that the District will be able to save millions more next year in transportation costs on top of the millions saved this year by utilizing receivership powers. This also allows us to modify starting times in the educational interest of students (i.e. starting high school students later in the day, which research supports). District may now have faculty meetings both before and after school. • 4 10

BUFFALO TEACHER FEDERATION CONTRACT For the first time ever, the District incorporated a 60 day notice period into the contract, which • will assist the District in filling vacancies earlier. In addition, the settlement of the contract had other positive consequences such as the • negotiation of a new APPR agreement in December of 2016 and the negotiation of an MOU establishing a new, more efficient transfer process in June of 2017. 5 10

BUFFALO TEACHER FEDERATION CONTRACT EMERGING IMPACT OF BTF CONTRACT The settlement of such a large contract, that had been outstanding for 12 years, was viewed as • a positive by debt rating agencies, with Fitch increasing the City’s debt rating to “AA-” subsequent to the meeting where we updated them on the B TF contract settlement. The Actuarial valuation of the District’s Other Post Employment Benefit liability (OPEB – Retiree • Healthcare) at 6/30/2017 noted an approximate $200 million reduction in the long term liability as a result of new health insurance plan design / experience for teachers, which was negotiated in the new BTF contract. The new contract achieved its goal in the 2016-17 fiscal year of avoiding a large exodus of • teachers, as teacher termination payouts were approximately $0.6 million less than the prior year and $1.1 million under budget. 5 10