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Fair Teachers, administrators agree on new contract with East Meadow School District
District reaches 'memorandum of understanding' with unions
The East Meadow School District has reached a "memorandum of understanding" on a new contract with both the teacher and administrative unions.
An announcement was made on Thursday at the Board of Education's monthly Communications session. According to officials, a tentative agreement has been reached with leaders of the East Meadow Teachers Association and the East Meadow School Adminstrators Association to a "successor contract."
The current contracts are set to expire at the end of August.
Superintendent Louis DeAngelo and board officials said details of the contract will not be made public until union members discuss and vote on the agreement sometime after the spring break, which runs from Saturday through April 5.
According to an e-mail sent from EMTA president John Gallagher to teachers on Thursday night, members will meet on April 7 and April 8 to discuss details of the contract. A union-wide ratification vote will be held on April 9, according to the e-mail.
"We are very pleased with both of the settlements," DeAngelo said. "This movement on part of the teachers and the administrators suggests how a group is working together to overcome some of the obstacles ahead of us."
The news came as a surprise to many in the audience. It took three years before a settlement was reached between the teachers and the district in September of 2007. That negotiation period was marred by demonstrations and many heated meetings.
Officials from the teachers and administrators associations could not be immediately reached for comment on Thursday night.
However, the EMTA e-mail said as follows:
"This evening the East Meadow Teachers Association and the East Meadow Union Free School District reached tentative settlements for successor agreements to the 2004-2010 teacher and SRP [school-related personnel] contracts. Both parties agreed to withhold the terms of the contracts until they are presented to the membership."
For updates and more on this story, check LIHerald.com/eastmeadow, and read the April 1 edition of the East Meadow Herald.
Updated: 3/25/10, 11 p.m.
