Q & A re: Contract Settlements between Wayland Public Schools and the Wayland Teachers Association
1. What were the goals of the WSC during the negotiation of these contracts?
The WSC identified 5 goals for the negotiations in December 2012: 1. to address certain long term structural concerns with the existing WTA contract (smoothing two disproportional steps at years 3-4 and 11-12 and eliminating a 10% retirement payment) to achieve more predictable budgeting and reasonable savings; 2. to negotiate a contract that would provide for total compensation that is competitive with peer towns to enable the WPS to attract quality teachers; 3. to be sensitive to the financial concerns of Wayland’s taxpayers; 4. to follow an appropriate process respectfully; and 5. to address some administrative and employee concerns in the wake of a number of state mandates.
2. What time period is covered by the new contracts?
The first contract, which was approved by the WSC in September 2013, is a single year agreement running from July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014. The successor agreement which was approved by the WSC in November 2013, is a three year agreement running from July 1, 2014 through August 31, 2017. A new contract will need to be negotiated to begin on September 1, 2017.
3. How do the contracts achieve the first WSC goal of addressing existing structural concerns?
The contracts provide for a new salary schedule for all teachers hired after June 30. 2013. The new salary schedule (attached hereto) eliminates two disproportionate salary increases that existed under the old schedule at steps 3-4 (approximately 9%) and at the top step, 11-12 (ranging from 15% to 27%). Instead the new schedule follows the practice of peer towns and provides for flat percentage increases at each step, approximately 4.7% in Wayland. The effect of this is comparatively, to make budgeting for step increases year on year much more predictable.
The contracts also provide that the retirement payment of 10% per annum for the last 3 years of employment be phased out in favor of a longevity program similar to what is available in peer towns. The new longevity program provides for payment of $1000 per annum after 20 years of service and $2000 per annum after 25 years of service. The new payments are pensionable under the MA Teachers’ Retirement System which may be more beneficial to many teachers and less costly to the town. Teachers who are current employees will have the option to select the 10% payment.
The WSC is pleased with both of these changes as real positive steps toward making the teacher compensation system financially sustainable and commensurate with what is available in Wayland’s peer towns.
4. How do the contracts achieve the second WSC goal of staying competitive with peer towns?
Wayland ranked 3rd among the WSC identified peer towns for average teachers’ salary under the prior WTA contract. Under these new contracts, the new salary schedule which provides for flat 4.7% increases on each step, makes Wayland 6th among its peer towns with step increases equal to those available in certain key peer towns. Wayland agreed to the addition of a new lane at the master’s level to reward teachers for completing graduate course work in a manner that reflects the salary schedules of several peer towns. Additionally, the new longevity program is commensurate to many of Wayland’s peer towns which have adopted similar programs over the past few years. The new contracts also provide for an updated leave policy which mirrors policies available in peer towns and was a change sought by the WTA for several contract cycles. We believe the new leave policy will be cost neutral to the town.
5. How do the contracts achieve the third WSC goal of sensitivity to financial concerns?
These contracts provide for cost of living increases of 0.5% in FY 14, 1.5% per year in FY 15, FY 16 and the first half of FY 17, plus an additional 1.0% in the second half of FY 17. These increases are smaller than those agreed to in several peer towns who have completed contract negotiations this year. 1n addition to these reasonable COLAs, the new salary schedule and a new longevity program with the phase out of the 10% retirement payment provided for in this contract will provide budgetary predictability and long term savings to the town. For example the new longevity payments are pensionable under the MA Teachers’ Retirement System and for this reason may be more beneficial to many teachers and less costly to the town. Given the projected number of retirements and new hires in FY 14 and FY 15, these benefits should begin immediately. The Health Reimbursement Account expires at the end of FY 14. The contract provides for the payment of a modest $36,000 one-time payment in FY 14 to be used by the WTA for the benefit of its members and which potentially could be used for extraordinary medical expenses.
6. How did the WSC achieve its fourth and final goals of respectfully following an appropriate process and addressing administrative and teacher concerns resulting from state mandates?
The WSC and the WTA agreed to conduct these negotiations using an Interest Based Bargaining (IBB) methodology, which is based on an open exchange of interests, data gathering and detailed analysis. Both sides felt that this more collaborative process would result in an agreement which served their mutual interests as well as compromise on those areas where they differed. Mindful of the concerns expressed by the community about certain provisions of the contract, as well as the importance of maintaining quality schools, the WSC and the WTA believe that these agreements are directly responsive to those concerns while maintaining Wayland’s tradition of attracting and retaining exceptional teachers and providing fair and appropriate compensation. The final goal was and is intrinsically linked to the fourth goal because IBB provided both the School Committee and the WTA with the opportunity to discuss concerns and options to address those concerns through brainstorming, rather than the use of hard and fast proposals. This enabled both parties to “hear” the other side and arrive at solutions which were beneficial to students, teachers and administration.
7. What terms are specific to the successor 3 year contract?
The COLAs of 1.5% per year in FY 15, FY 16 and the first half of FY 17 plus an additional 1.0% in the second half of FY 17; an agreement with the WTA on implementation of the new state mandated Teacher Evaluation System; various minor administrative changes; and continuation of the other terms which were established in the FY I 4 contract during the FY 15 – FY I 7 term.
8. Can you quantify the savings achieved under the contracts?
This is a very difficult question. The WSC is confident that these new contracts will result in several financial benefits to the town: less fluctuation in expenses from year to year and more predictable budgeting, real long term savings, and rational and fair compensation for its professional employees – the teachers. The WSC notes that both the Finance Committee and Board of Selectmen supported these contracts. The WSC believes that working with the teachers we have reached an improved rapport and understanding of the financial realities on both sides. The savings attributable to the contracts for FY 15 are anticipated to be approximately $45,000. Beyond that it is not reasonable to predict because so many variables are unknown such as number of anticipated leaves, retirements and new hires. However, another measure of savings is how Wayland’s WTA contract compares to what has been negotiated by peer towns. By this measure, Wayland has achieved significant savings in this contract cycle which we anticipate will continue over the next decade. This comparative measure of savings is captured in the chart attached titled “WTA New Contract Budget Deltas” which shows the average cost of COLAs in Wayland’s peer towns over the current contract cycle, FY 14- 16 to be significantly larger than the total cost of Wayland’s contracts (COLAs and other costs) over the same cycle.
This text and all accompanies tables are in this PDF
