School board approves 4-year deal for Hempstead teachers
Hempstead schools Superintendent Regina Armstrong at Wednesday night's school board meeting where the board approved a new labor contract for teachers. Credit: Newsday / Thomas A. Ferrara
Two impasses, multiple rallies and nearly a decade later, Hempstead teachers finally have a new labor contract, a four-year deal with annual raises, incentive pay and other benefits.
The agreement between the district and the teachers' union was approved unanimously Wednesday night by the Hempstead school board in a 5-0 vote. Teachers also get higher stipends for student extracurricular activities.
The 28-page memorandum of agreement takes effect immediately and runs through June 2025.
“We're glad that it's over,” Hempstead Classroom Teachers Association President Nicole Brown said of the yearslong negotiation. “Finally, we broke the curse. It’s a huge milestone for us to finally move forward.”
Brown said her members had not had a salary raise since 2010 and were working under the conditions of a contract that expired in 2013. Teachers had received step increases but the overall pay scale was frozen. The average salary for a Hempstead schoolteacher is $90,000.
“It will never make up the 12 years of [the salary] being frozen,” Brown said of the new contract. “But it is a step forward because we could not go another year without a wage increase.”
Under the newly ratified contract, a 1% increase will be added to each step on the pay scale for those who have at least a master's degree, for the 2021-22 school year. Teachers will also receive a retroactive salary increase of up to 3% and a one-time payment of $1,500 for the current school year.
For the next school year starting July 1, teachers will receive another $1,500 incentive payment and a salary raise of 2.75%. For the remaining two school years, the percentages of salary increases are 2.25% and 2%.
Laurie Hamilton, an early childhood specialist at the district’s Rhodes Academy, said the contract’s ratification is a step in the right direction.
“It's not everything we wanted, but we cannot continue to stay stagnant,” she said. “I think it is as fair as we are going to get in the current circumstances.”
Hamilton said teachers’ pay in Hempstead has been significantly behind neighboring districts. Hamilton graduated from Molloy University, then Molloy College, about 15 years ago and has stayed in touch with a few classmates. They went on to teach in Syosset, Jericho and Uniondale schools and are making from $127,000 to $138,000 a year, she said. Her salary is $105,000.
“It almost feels like, unfortunately, a slap in the face,” she said. “You love the community and you love what you do, but you're not paid your worth.”
Hamilton, who applauded along with others in the room after the contract was approved, said it sets her a little more at ease.
“The inflation is real. The prices have increased around us,” Hamilton said. “It definitely makes me feel more at peace financially that I will be able to pay off some student loan debt that I have.”
District Superintendent Regina Armstrong and other school officials have called the contract long overdue.
“This contract is a long time coming,” board trustee LaMont Johnson said after the vote. “I want the teachers to know that we do appreciate you and we want to continue … to fight for the students to get the best education possible.”
Members of the teachers union ratified the proposed contract Friday by a 322-67 vote. Brown said the union has 503 members, including classroom teachers, social workers and guidance counselors.
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
