Schools

Dobbs Ferry Teachers Take 1-Year Pay Freeze

A new three-year agreement is retroactively effective as of July 1, 2012.

A retroactive agreement between the Dobbs Ferry Board of Education and the Dobbs Ferry United Teachers (DFUT) union includes a pay freeze for all teachers and administrators in the district for the upcoming 2013-14 school year.

According to a statement from the district, "This is a 'hard freeze' that includes no step increase, no raise and no movement on the salary guide for increased course credits."

Superintendent Lisa Brady praised the agreement, stating it "allows the District to remain in a favorable financial situation and avoid the need to reduce staff and eliminate any instructional positions."

The contract, approved by the Board of Education on June 20, is effective as of last July and ends on June 30, 2015, "except as modified by specific provisions."

A separate Memorandum of Agreement, also approved at the meeting, affects the Dobbs Ferry Administrators Association (DFAA).

In two years, "teachers will receive a 1½ percent pay increase along with a step increase. Teachers will also be contributing more towards the cost of their health insurance. Effective July 1, 2014, they will be paying 14 percent, up from 12 percent in the previous contract," the statement explained.

Noted Board resident Dr. Jeffrey O'Donnell, "Throughout the negotiation process, the Board, the administrators and the teachers were focused on doing what was best for Dobbs Ferry’s students and maintaining the District’s standards of excellence in education."

In addition to addressing the tougher financial times the district faces, the contract and memorandum also provide more time for staffers to participate in state-mandated programs.

Given requirements connected with New York State's Common Core and the recently-instated Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR), the contract calls for a one-hour early dismissal every Wednesday beginning in September.

"The added professional development time is essential if we are to give our teachers the training and resources necessary to create the 21st Century learning environments that our students need," said Brady. "This expanded professional development time is already in place in some of our neighboring districts and is becoming more commonplace as school districts look for ways to meet the increasing demands from the State. The one-hour early dismissal on Wednesdays will ‘back up’ onto existing afterschool professional development time and allow teachers longer blocks of time to work together."


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