Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Thursday, December 16, 1999

Release #485-99

Contact: Sunny Mindel/Curt Ritter 212/788-2958



MAYOR GIULIANI, SCHOOLS CHANCELLOR RUDOLPH CREW AND CSA PRESIDENT DONALD SINGER ANNOUNCE TENTATIVE LABOR ACCORD WITH COUNCIL OF SUPERVISORS AND ADMINISTRATORS

Agreement Contains Historic Arrangement To Eliminate Principal Tenure

Performance Pay Incentives For Top 25% Of Employees

Extends School Workday And Work Year, Provides 11% Wage Increase

Differentials For School Size, Extended Workday And For Principals Working In Low-Performing Schools

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani; Schools Chancellor Rudolph F. Crew; Donald Singer, President of the Council of Supervisors and Administrators (CSA), and Assemblyman Steven Sanders, today announced that a tentative settlement has been reached with the 4,400 member union that represents Principals, Assistant Principals, Education Administrators and other school supervisors in the Board of Education.

Subject to ratification and adoption by the Board, the agreement will be retroactive to February 12,1996 and will expire on March 31, 2001. The settlement is subject to the union's ratification process and reflects an agreement consistent with the pattern established in all earlier Citywide civilian agreements, all uniformed employee agreements and agreements with the UFT.

The agreement contains an historic arrangement to eliminate tenure for Principals and modify the procedure for Assistant Principals. It also includes a longer workday and work year for Principals and some Assistant Principals, and a longer workday for all other Assistant Principals and other Supervisors, with attendant salary increases. Changes in discipline will be implemented through the legislative process.

The agreement also provides merit pay, which is performance based incentive pay, to the top 25 percent of the Principals, Assistant Principals, Supervisors and Administrators who, will receive pay increases ranging from $2,750 to $15,000 beginning with the school year 1999/2000. This pay is based upon performance-based evaluations and a set of objective criteria to be developed by the Chancellor. Principals in schools with larger enrollment and Citywide Special Education Schools with greater number of classes, will be eligible for differentials of up to $3,250. In addition, an annual salary differential of $10,000 will be paid to Principals and $2,500 to Intermediate Supervisors, who are selected to serve or to be retained in low-performing schools as defined by the Chancellor.

"Today's agreement represents a critical step in the effort to bring crucial changes and restructuring in the City's education system as we know it, and to bring about much needed improvements and renovations," said Mayor Giuliani. "Allowing for a faster and less complicated system of discipline for Principals and other Supervisors will allow the system to weed out undesirable employees in a faster and less complicated manner. In addition, increasing the workday and work year will increase productivity and improve the quality of education for the children in the City of New York."

The agreement also calls for a 61 month 20 day contract. The economic package includes general wage increases, welfare fund increases, a 22-year longevity, modifications to section 3020-a of the Education Law, differentials for longer work year and workday.

The terms of the agreement, consistent with the pattern established for this round of negotiation, include:

Effective February 1, 2000, Principals who have passed probation will be offered a three year employment contract and the disciplinary process shall be modified to include a three step process that is completed within 60 days. Principals will be evaluated each year of the contract and the initial decision to take discipline for misconduct or an unsatisfactory evaluation is to be made by the Superintendent. An arbitrator may review that decision. The arbitrator's decision may be reviewed by the Chancellor, and his decision may be reviewed by the State Commissioner of Education.

The section 3020-a process will be modified for Assistant Principals and School Based Intermediate Supervisors to include a single arbitrator and completion of the process within 150 days. Education Administrators Level IV and some Level IIIs shall be covered by the process for principals while, Level I, II and other Level IIIs shall be covered by the process for Assistant Principals.

"I want to congratulate everyone involved in this historic agreement for their tremendous efforts, Deputy Mayor Randy Levine, Chancellor Crew and his staff, Labor Commissioner James Hanley and his staff, Assemblyman Steven Sanders and Donald Singer, President of CSA and his staff. This agreement represents another crucial step in an innovative effort to restructure and renovate the education system in the City of New York," the Mayor concluded.

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