Levittown administrators get new deal

Levittown School District administrators are working with a contract again. The Board of Education unanimously approved the four-year agreement at its meeting on Feb. 4.

“It was a fair contract on both sides,” said Trustee Michael Pappas.

The Association of Levittown School Administrators has 42 members, which includes 10 building principals, as well as the assistant principals, department directors, assistant directors and curriculum associates. They have been without a contract since July 1, 2013. Union members ratified the deal in March 2014, although it took 11 months to finalize all the wording of the contract.

“It’s a feeling of relief,” said union President John Avena, the principal of Wisdom Lane Middle School. “It worked out really well.”

Administrators received their longevity-based Step increases last year and this year. Additionally, they will receive 1 percent raises every six months beginning July 1, through Jan. 1, 2017. The contract expires June 30, 2017.

Superintendent Dr. Tonie McDonald said the deal shows that the administrators are sensitive to the financial pressures the school district is under. She said she is satisfied with the contract, as well as the hard work of her administrative team.

All full-time administrators will be required to work an additional three days over the summer. McDonald said that with the increased demand on them resulting from testing and teacher evaluations, the extra days are necessary.

Avena said the union successfully lobbied for a clause that would ensure no layoffs for the next two years. “We made sure our people have job security,” he said.

McDonald noted that it is rare for negotiations with the administrative unit to stretch on as long as it did, but is glad a resolution is finally in place. She said the district is close to reaching a memorandum of agreement with the teachers’ union, which has also been without a contract since 2013, and is also hoping for a deal soon with the Civil Service Employees Association.