Smithtown teachers meet over stalled talks

Hundreds of Smithtown teachers packed a high school auditorium this week to show their frustration with stalled contract talks.

The district's 845 teachers have been working without a contract since June, when a five-year deal expired. The dispute has been referred to nonbinding mediation.

Addressing the school board Tuesday night at Smithtown High School West, Smithtown Teachers' Association president Rich Forzano said the union is willing to make concessions to help the district deal with a stagnant economy and state aid cuts. But he said district negotiators "offered nothing in return."

School board members and Superintendent Edward Ehmann did not respond to Forzano.

Wednesday, school board president Robert Rossi said teachers averaged 7 percent raises -- including a negotiated raise, step increases and cost-of-living adjustments -- in the final year of the previous contract.

"Nobody in today's economy can afford to pay people at a 7 percent pay increase per year," Rossi said in an interview. "The taxpayer has his back to the wall."

The district, which faces a possible $5.3-million cut in state aid in the next school year, has told 99 teachers that their jobs may be eliminated due to budget cuts. The district is planning to close an elementary school in September 2012 due to state aid cuts and declining enrollment.

Forzano said Wednesday that teachers were prepared to accept a smaller raise in their next contract. He said teachers had agreed to a wage freeze in the 2005-06 school year in exchange for a backloaded contract that resulted in the 7 percent pay increase.

In recent contract talks in other Long Island districts, teachers have settled on raises of less than 3 percent.

Smithtown teachers who packed the 1,200-seat auditorium Tuesday were silent throughout the meeting and left when Forzano finished speaking. The meeting had been moved to the high school from the district's administrative offices to accommodate the anticipated crowd.