Teachers Pay Increase Toward Health Insurance Under New Contract

After more than a year of negotiation, the Riverhead Central School District and the Riverhead Central Faculty Association announced Tuesday night the ratification of a new, five-year contract.

The new contract increases contributions teachers make to health insurance and holds teacher salary increases under the New York State tax cap.

The agreement, which spans from July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2017, keeps last year’s salary increases at zero percent and provides for a .75 percent — or three quarters of one percentage point — increase in this school year and each of the next three school years.

Also, teachers will pay 1.25 percent more for health insurance each year beginning in the 2013 - 2014 school year.

By the end of the contract, most teachers will pay 20 percent of the cost of health insurance.

A reconfiguration of payments to a supplemental benefits plan will save the district close to $200,000 over the life of the contract.

“This agreement is a net positive for our budget and for our taxpayers,” Board of Education President Ann Cotten-DeGrasse said. “It provides modest increases for teachers, but at the same time requires greater contributions to health insurance costs, which is currently our single largest expense.”

“The negotiation process has been proceeding for more than a year, and I am pleased with the results,” Lisa Goulding, the newly elected president of the teachers union, said.  “During negotiations, we were mindful of the property tax cap and the effect it has on the district’s budget. We feel that the agreement is fair, and we thank the board and the community for their support in our work.

During the negotiation process, the district and the RCFA worked to keep their efforts concentrated on the education of RCSD students, Superintendent Nancy Carney said. “I am proud of the fact that we were able to settle this contract. Our teachers conducted themselves with professionalism throughout and I thank them for their efforts. We are working hard to educate our students and I am eager to move forward in this era of cooperation."