Mamaroneck Teachers Working Without A Contract

by Ben Cruikshank

(September 25, 2007) Since their contract expired on June 30, 2007, the teachers of the Mamaroneck School District have been working without a contract. All teachers in the district are represented by the Mamaroneck Teachers Association (MTA), which is responsible for negotiating a new contract with the Mamaroneck School District. Although the teachers are being paid their salaries under the old contract and any new contract would be retroactive, there is a feeling of uncertainty about the process that makes many teachers uncomfortable. As MTA representative Anne Kimball noted, “No one is content with not having a new contract.”

While negotiations between the district and the MTA are not yet contentious, they have been proceeding slowly because of complications with the budget and the fact that two assistant superintendents involved in the negotiation process resigned and new ones had to be brought up to speed. (See: Two (of Four) Top Administrators Leaving Mam'k School District.)

According to Linda Sherwood, one of the teacher-negotiators, along with Lori Dressler, Lena Wicker, Erin (Torpey) Gayda, Ann Borsellino and retired teacher John Esposito, there have been only two meetings since July and the process is “just frustratingly slow.” However, Amy Levere, president of the Mamaroneck School Board, stated that both sides are doing the best they can. “The delay is not caused by our side—it’s a mutual process, and we are negotiating in good faith and I trust that the teachers are as well. We both have a mutual interest in getting this completed as quickly as possible.”

Representatives from the MTA and the School Board did not feel that they could publicly give details about the topics being negotiated, although Ms. Sherwood said the teachers were generally concerned with health care coverage, accountability issues and hours and time worked. Ms. Levere did not wish to discuss the issues, although she commented that “there are a lot of items to be negotiated this time around.”

Both sides agreed that the defeat of the first school budget on May 15th had affected the negotiations. (See: Mamaroneck School Budget Defeated by 61% of Vote.) Ms. Levere noted that the board’s hands were “somewhat tied” because “clearly people are playing close attention to all of the amounts that we spend.” Ms. Borsellino, the head of the MTA, expressed concern that the teachers would be the ones to bear the brunt of any cost-cutting. She pointed out that even after the budget defeat, central administrators had received raises and benefits and that it would be “disheartening” if the district tried to hold down costs mainly through the teachers’ contract.

This is not the first time that the Mamaroneck teachers have been without a contract. In 1982 and 1992, Mamaroneck teachers, working without a contract, refused to do anything that was not explicitly required by the expired contract, such as writing college recommendations. In addition, teachers were so concerned about the lack of a contract that they picketed the schools at back-to-school nights.

Neither the MTA nor the School Board anticipates that this year’s contract negotiations will result in similar actions. So far, the only public comment on the negotiations occurred on September 19th, when all teachers wore MTA t-shirts with the words “Teaching Excellence” on the back. Ms. Kimball stressed that the t-shirts were being worn because “we don’t want to be inflammatory ... but we wanted to show solidarity that the negotiations haven’t gone on quickly enough.” Ms. Levere noted that there is no specific timetable for the negotiations, but she is very hopeful that the process will go smoothly. “We want to be on the best terms possible with the teachers because they are the ones providing education for our children.”