The Herricks Teachers Association is ready to return to the bargaining table to explore possible revision of its current contract following the death of teachers association president Craig Lagnese.
Jane Morales, a Herricks High School teacher who is serving as interim president of the association, said this week she had informed Herricks Superintendent of Schools John Bierwirth that the teachers unit was prepared to conduct business as usual last Monday.
Both sides had agreed to a moratorium during Thanksgiving week out of respect for Lagnese’s death on Nov. 19. The funeral for Lagnese took place the day before Thanksgiving.
“We’re going ahead,” said Morales, who had served as teachers association executive vice president under Lagnese. “We’ve been going all along.”
Herricks Board of Education President Christine Turner has said the teachers association could help the district avoid drastic budget cuts by foregoing scheduled salary increases next year.
The teachers association is awaiting a response to the proposal it made to the Herricks Board of Education on amending its current contract – a response Morales said she was anticipating would come early this week.
Depending on the nature of that response, she said the teachers association’s professional negotiations committee, which is comprised of seven teachers from schools in the Herricks district, would be ready to schedule another meeting with the school board’s negotiators.
“If they counter with something that we think is acceptable, then we would sit down and meet with their representatives,” Morales said.
Morales, who is a family consumer science teacher at Herricks High School, said that it was doubtful that a meeting with the district negotiators could be scheduled prior to the school board’s next meeting on Dec. 8.
Bierwirth declined to comment on whether a response from the board would be forthcoming this week.
Morales said that Lagnese had played a key role in discussions with the school board’s representatives. She said he had taken an active role in forging the proposal submitted to the school board before its Nov. 3 meeting, and had a left a legacy for the negotiators to carry on.
“He trained us well. He was a good leader. Even from home, when he was home sick, he was very much in charge,” Morales said.
Morales will remain interim teachers association president until an election is held on Jan. 11 to fill the position. Morales said she would be running for the position.
She sounded a note of cautious optimism about reaching an amended contract agreement with the school district, noting the teachers’ priority to prevent layoffs.
“One of our top priorities is to save positions. It’s tough times,” Morales said. “Both sides are working and we hope a compromise can be met.”
Last year, the district laid off 63 employees in passing a $98.9 million budget for the current year, representing a 2.55 percent increase over the current $96.5 million budget. The tax levy increased by 3.78 percent.
This year, facing a 2 percent tax cap on the levy, Bierwirth has estimated that 35 employees would be laid off in the absence of substantial cuts in district expenses in the 2012-13 school year.
The teachers are currently in the third year of a five-year contract that calls for a 2.75 percent increase in salaries this year, with 3 percent increases guaranteed in the final two years of the current contract. The average state-mandated “step” salary increases in addition to those increments are 1.8 percent each year, according to Helen Costigan, assistant superintendent for business.
“I believe that they want a solution also. I just don’t know when we have the same solution,” said Herricks School Board member Jim Gounaris.
Gounaris noted that the teachers’ initial proposal was actually a response to a verbal proposal the school board had made during a meeting with the teachers’ negotiators. He said that while he’s encourage that there is a dialogue between the teachers and the district, he’s not hopeful of reaching a deal to amend the teachers’ current contract.
“I am thankful that communication exists. I am not optimistic based on what I’ve seen at this time, but anything could change,” Gounaris said.
