Rye Board of Ed Signs New Five Year Teacher Contract

The Rye Board of Ed has signed a new five year contract with the Rye Techers Association (RTA). The new agreement was approved at the June 5, 2018 meeting.

The highlights of the agreement were detailed in a note to issued by the board. The board is calling the agreement "a tremendous step forward" and "fiscally sustainable". It makes teacher salaries more competitive with other districts while asking teachers to shoulder more health care costs.

There is also a link to the entire agreement below.

(PHOTO: Signatories to the Board of Ed – Rye Teachers Association agreement. Clearly, no one excelled in handwriting class.)

Dear Rye Families,

We are pleased to announce the Board of Education approved a new 5-year contract with the Rye Teachers Association (RTA) last night. Dr. Eric Byrne, Gabriella O’Connor, Assistant Superintendent for Business, Elaine Cuglietto, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, and Sherri Goffman, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum, have worked closely with the RTA negotiating team since February to craft an agreement which addresses the needs of our school community and recognizes the realities of property taxes here in New York.

The agreement reached is a tremendous step forward for our entire community. We deeply appreciate the work of our teachers and their partnership in developing this new contract. We are pleased to share some identified needs addressed in this new contract:

• The contract creates a new salary scale for teachers that is fiscally sustainable – critical given the state-mandated 2% tax cap.
• The contract makes teacher compensation in Rye more competitive with that of teachers in peer districts. In recognition of ever-increasing health care costs, teachers will help bear the burden by increasing their health care contribution.
• Evening parent-teacher conferences at the elementary level will provide more flexibility for parents and increase direct instruction time for students. Rather than two half-days of conferences in Fall and Spring, parents will meet with teachers on a single date in the Fall and another in the Spring from 12 p.m-7 p.m.
• The contract includes a new teacher attendance policy with incentives for excellent attendance.
  The new contract will be in effect from July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2023. Again, we thank the RTA for their partnership in reaching a timely settlement and for their commitment to the students and to the Rye City School District community.

Sincerely,
The Rye City School District Board of Education
Katy Keohane Glassberg, President
Karen Belanger, Vice President
Jennifer Boyle, Blake Jines-Storey, Nancy Pasquale, Chris Repetto, Kelly Smith-Powers

Read the entire agreement.