Rockville Centre teachers ratify new contract

Members of the bargaining unit representing Rockville Centre teachers and teaching assistants, the largest of seven such units in the school district, voted on March 27 to ratify a memorandum of agreement for a new four-year contract. The Board of Education was expected to vote on the agreement at its meeting on April 3.

“I’m thankful for the overwhelming support of our schools that the teachers and teaching assistants have shown in ratifying this contract,” said school board President Liz Dion. “This contract protects jobs for several years and allows us to continue to provide the excellent level of education our community expects.”

Schools Superintendent Dr. William Johnson also reacted to the news with praise for the teachers who are making it possible for the district to keep its programs, class sizes, extracurricular activities and staffing levels intact while complying with the state’s new 2 percent tax-levy cap.

“The district administration and Teachers’ Association have come together in negotiating changes to their bargaining agreement that will allow the district to put forth a budget for the 2012-13 school year without any cuts to programs or services,” Johnson said in a written statement. “Throughout our discussions, we talked about maintaining the integrity of our school system, doing our best to have no reduction in services or programs and, in fact, keeping our students in the forefront to make sure that the quality of their education is the same this year and into the future. Ratification by the membership of the Teachers’ Association shows the support we have from our instructional staff in keeping our programs and staff intact and keeping the quality of education for all students as the number one priority.”

At the board meeting on March 20, Johnson announced that the Office Staff Association, which represents district clerical workers, had also ratified a memorandum of agreement for a new four-year contract.