The contract between the Port Washington Union Free School District (the "District") and the Port Washington Teachers' Association (the "Association"), dated October 3, 2002 and just published, provides for a 3 percent increase retroactively for the period July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2003 for instructional personnel. This includes teachers, guidance counselors, librarians, school nurse teachers, psychologists, speech clinicians, social workers and department chairpersons. The contract, which covers the period July 1, 2002 through June 30, 2005, also provides for a 3.25 percent increase beginning July 1, 2003, and another 3.25 percent beginning July 1, 2004. The salary schedule for the year 2002-2003 starts at $44,358 for a beginning teacher with a B.A. (Step 1) and goes up to $104,241 for instructional personnel with a doctorate and 25 years experience or equivalent (Step 25). For 2003-2004, the range is $45,800 to $107,630; and for 2004-2005, it is $47,289 to $111,129.

Dr. Geoffrey Gordon, superintendent of schools, said that they are studying the impact of the new contract on the budget. He pointed out that the increases were in the target range that were projected and, in fact, were on "the conservative side." He added, "We are looking to see where we can offset the cost to taxpayers wherever possible." Gordon, Mary Ann Cariello, President of the Association, and Laura Mogul, President of the Board of Education all agreed that the increases are consistent with those of other schools in Nassau County generally and on the North Shore specifically. Manhasset, New Hyde Park and Great Neck, for example, scheduled raises of roughly 3 percent, as did most of the schools on the South Shore. Mogul, who said she was definitely "satisfied" with the agreement, which she called "fair," commented that the budget would most likely increase because of the raises. She said that they would try to balance out the increase, but unless they find a way to offset the raises with savings in other parts of the budget, it will have an impact on taxes. At this point, no one is willing to predict what that impact might be.

A significant addition to the contract is the stipulation that, in the middle schools and high school, extra help will be provided to the students departmentally for a period of 30 minutes before school and 30 minutes after school. The schedule for the provision of extra help sessions is to be posted monthly. According to Sallie and Mogul, this formalizes a practice that to some extent had already been taking place. Mogul acknowledged that teachers have always been generous with their time, but the new provision ensures that a student who, for whatever reason, cannot see his or her own teacher for extra help, can be sure that someone from the department will be available. Mogul added, "This is an example of how the teachers worked with us. It [the contract negotiation] was not just about money, it was about what we wanted to do for our students."

Under the new agreement, school psychologists, guidance counselors and social workers are to attend a maximum of four evening parent-teacher meetings a year with mutually scheduled compensatory time. The contract also provides that in 2004-5, the teachers' day may begin a little earlier -- at 7:45 instead of 8:00 - in the event that the Salem School re-opens and providing that the earlier day will result in a significant savings in transportation. Another change includes a small increase (approximately $100 per capita) in the district's contribution to the Benefit Trust Fund.

According to Cariello, the contract negotiations began in the summer of 2002, and both parties reached agreement on the major points in September. Edward Sallie, the district's assistant superintendent for human resources and general administration, described the negotiations as "intense, but cordial and professional." He added, "People around the table respected each other." Sallie said that a major point of negotiation, in addition to salaries and the changes described above, was health insurance premiums, which in the end remained unchanged.

There were no significant changes in other contractual items such as leaves, school calendar, hours worked, benefits, grievance procedures, and so forth.

All parties expressed satisfaction with the agreement. Cariello said that she hopes that, in the future, contract negotiations can begin sooner. She said that, in part because of the change in superintendent, negotiations did not begin in earnest until late August. She went on to point out, "when both sides are ready to settle, it doesn't really take much time." Cariello added, "An agreement allows the school to run well and permits the teachers to be concerned with teaching and learning, not with salaries. It enhances everyone's ability to function well." Mogul agreed, saying, "I wish that we could have gotten the process going earlier, but we were dealing with a transition." She acknowledged the hard work of all the negotiators, pointing out that they worked through the night on Labor Day weekend to attempt to reach an agreement before school started. She added, "The board recognizes that the process itself probably needs some work, and they are looking to understand where the process broke down this time." Mogul complimented the professionalism of the teachers, and added that she especially wanted to give a lot of credit to Dr. Gordon, who she said "was instrumental in making the agreement happen. He spent countless hours with me and the board and the negotiating team."

Dr. Gordon summed up by saying, "We have outstanding faculty in Port Washington. Both parties operated in good faith and we reached what we feel is a very fair settlement."