Teachers' raises shrinking on Island

Teachers across Long Island are doing the math and settling for lower raises.

In a growing number of Long Island school districts, they've agreed to annual raises roughly half the size of those negotiated in multiyear contracts before the economy nose-dived in 2008. And with residents balking at skyrocketing taxes and heavy pressure to resolve the state's fiscal woes, experts say contracts are likely to continue to get leaner.

"I think salary freezes, minimal raises and higher contributions to health insurance premiums will be the cornerstone of districts' negotiations for the foreseeable future," said Gary Bixhorn, a leading regional school analyst and chief operating officer for Eastern Suffolk BOCES.

School administrators and teachers union representatives say yearly raises in new contracts are running 1 percent to 2.5 percent on average, compared with hikes of 2.75 to 4 percent that were common before hard economic times hit.

Even so, teacher pay outpaces inflation, now running about 2.1 percent annually. That's because those contractual raises are on top of annual pay increases built into salary schedules -- called step increments -- which change little from year to year, but can substantially boost total compensation. The step increases are given automatically each year until a teacher reaches top scale.

The latest pay estimates are based on contracts adopted since last summer in 20 districts that have a total of more than 8,000 teachers -- nearly 20 percent of the Island's classroom force. Teachers in 17 more districts are working with expired contracts, and contracts will expire in 30 districts by the end of this school year.

Districts push for givebacks

In the months ahead, districts will push for still-lower raises or even zero increases of the sort already approved by a few unions, school representatives said. They point to mounting financial pressures, including Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's recent calls for tax caps and more than $1 billion in school-aid cuts.

Four districts -- Bellmore-Merrick and East Williston in Nassau, and Comsewogue and Shoreham-Wading River in Suffolk -- spotlight the trend.

The Bellmore-Merrick district announced last week that its teachers have given up next year's contractual raises, averaging about 2.1 percent, though they will retain step increases. Two weeks ago, Comsewogue teachers agreed to cash givebacks of $4,500 each for the next school year.

In East Williston, meanwhile, the new teachers' contract provides raises averaging 1.1 percent annually over four years, with no contractual raise the first year. Two of the four annual steps raises will be deferred for six months. The agreement is the lowest so far in Nassau County, according to union representatives.

New contract salaries in East Williston will range from $56,992 for a beginning teacher with a bachelor's degree to $126,777 for a teacher with a master's degree, 60 additional college credits and more than 20 years' experience. The median salary would be about $103,900, district officials said.

"We know there are challenges out there," said John Coyne, 47, president of the East Williston teachers union. "A modest settlement is better than no settlement."

John Staudt, 45, who teaches advanced placement American history, agreed. "You know, these are tough times, and we have to be realistic and reasonable," he said. "Nobody's dancing over it, and we hope things get better in the future."

Under the Shoreham-Wading River district's agreement, raises average less than 1 percent annually over four years, with no raise the first year. That's on top of annual steps. Regional union officials say the contract is the lowest in Suffolk and for the Island as a whole.

Jason Malvagno, 30, who teaches world history and economics at Shoreham-Wading River High School, supports the contract. But he's cutting back financially by postponing a house purchase he had planned this summer. The main reason, he says, is that his fiancee is being let go from her job as a band teacher in another district.

"We understand things are tight," Malvagno said.

Some districts see tension

Tensions generated by soaring payrolls have neared the boiling point in some districts, such as Center Moriches. There, several residents expressed outrage at a recent school board meeting after learning the teachers union had rejected a two-year wage freeze. School administrators, secretaries and custodians have agreed to a one-year freeze.

"In today's economy, when so many of us are working harder for less, it's time for the teachers to say, 'OK, we understand what's going on,' " said Kim Nolan, 46, a sales executive and Center Moriches resident.

Russell Stewart, the local school superintendent, said average teacher salaries, with steps, in Center Moriches could rise more than 7 percent next year unless the contract is amended. An increase of that magnitude could force Center Moriches to lay off as many as 35 of its 160 teachers, he said.

Last week, representatives of both the school board and the union said talks had stalled and they were not hopeful of reaching agreement.

Under a state law known as the Triborough Amendment, adopted in 1982, teachers and other public employees continue collecting annual "steps" even after their contracts expire. School board leaders say this puts them at a sharp disadvantage in contract talks because union members know they'll continue to get partial raises.

Gregory Guercio, managing partner of a Farmingdale law firm that negotiated agreements in both East Williston and Shoreham-Wading River, refers to Triborough provisions as "the rigged bargaining system with which we're forced to deal in the state of New York."

In Albany, some groups, such as the New York State School Boards Association, have called for modifying the Triborough law. Cuomo has taken no stand on the issue, though he has said he wants to find ways to help schools save money through changes in state law.

A Cuomo spokesman, Josh Vlasto, referred a reporter to a report issued earlier this month by a gubernatorial advisory team. The report makes several specific proposals for cutting school costs, such as pension savings, but concludes that any changes in the Triborough Amendment are complex enough to require further study.

With Joie Tyrrell