The Herricks Teachers Association has filed a grievance against the school district for requiring elementary school teachers to conduct parent conferences during the school day rather than a day without classes.
“The HTA believes a part of the contract was violated. When a part of the contract is violated, the next step is to file a grievance,” Herricks Teachers Association President Jane Morales said in a statement issued Monday.
Jim Gounaris, Herricks school board vice president, said that the teacher-conference day was changed to a day of classroom instruction to make up time lost to Hurricane Sandy and the subsequent nor’easter.
Gounaris said the association, which filed the grievance in December, is seeking two hours of pay that the teachers would have received under the regularly scheduled parent-teacher conferences.
Herricks Superintendent of Schools John Bierwirth held a hearing to review the grievance shortly after receiving it in December, Gounaris said.
After Bierwirth ruled that the teachers grievance was without merit, the Herricks teachers continued to press the issue, Gounaris said.
“We find that totally ludicrous,” he said.
Gounaris said the revised school district calendar comprises 182 days, but district teachers will be paid for 183 days if no snow days occur.
“Even with the make-up of the days we put in the calendar, they’re only going to work 182 days,” Gounaris said.
A teachers union source who asked not to be identified said it isn’t just the money that prompted the grievance. The source said the teachers feel strongly that the parent-teachers conferences are important and should be incorporated into the district schedule.
Gounaris said he now expects the issue to go to arbitration.
“We need to hire an arbitrator to determine whether the superintendent’s decision was capricious. We’re really in a weird place,” Gounaris said. “We’re proceeding to arbitration.”
In response to district residents’ questions about the situation at last Thursday night’s Herricks Board of Education meeting, board members said the grievance case would cost the school district an undetermined amount in legal fees.
The grievance filing coincides with the school board’s initial consideration of the 2013-14 school district budget, which calls for the elimination of 17 teaching positions that administrators say would save $2.1 million in salaries and benefits. School officials said the cuts are necessary for the district to stay within the state-mandated tax cap.
Both teachers and school board officials have said they’re willing to listen to proposals to amend the current teachers contract, but both side have also said they are not planning to make the first move.
Salary increases for jobs districtwide are set to push costs up $3 million, according to Helen Costigan, Herricks assistant superintendent for business.
Herricks teachers are due to receive a 3 percent increase in 2013-14, the final year of their current contract.
Last year the two sides reached an impasse when the board rejected the teachers offer to reduce scheduled salary increases in exchange for a contract extension. To offset increases in teacher salaries and other costs, the district eliminated 12.4 jobs.
