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November 30, 2009

Mohawk pact eyes student progress

By Carol Colaizzi

A new contract between the Mohawk school district and its teachers is being described as a win-win-win agreement.

Although the contract won’t be physically completed for a few weeks, superintendent Dr. Timothy McNamee was eager to talk about one aspect of the pact.

McNamee said “the really exciting part” of the new contract is a section dealing with student achievement.

“I don’t believe any other contract in the state addresses” that issue.

He explained that through negotiations, the teachers and the board understood the importance of student achievement. As a result, the issue was put on the table.

“We said we needed more days for professional development, to meet goals; there are new strategies and use of data.”

The new contract will have a section outlining that issue.

McNamee explained if a building — elementary or high school — does not meet pre-determined targets for achievement, the teachers will attend extra professional development.

If the whole district makes annual yearly progress, the teachers will get a bonus of 0.5 percent of the average annual salary increase for the year.

The pre-determined targets and annual yearly progress are set by the state.

“This was really a mutual discussion and agreement,” McNamee said. “It was not a hard-fought battle. It was very exciting to see this.”

The school board and the teachers union have approved the entire contract, according to McNamee, who noted both sides have “agreed to all the concepts” and are now “working on putting it on paper.” He estimated that will take three weeks.

McNamee said board action came on Nov. 9, when the vote was 7-1 with Ted Morrow opposed and Rob Hodge absent.

The Mohawk Education Association approved the new pact on Nov. 6, McNamee said, adding the union did not disclose the vote.

An attempt Wednesday to reach Lindsey Shimrack, association president, was unsuccessful.

The early-bird contract will take effect July 1. An early-bird is so named because it is a contract that is settled before the date the state requires talks to begin — Jan. 15 of the year the pact is to expire.

The agreement also provides a yearly salary increase for the district’s teachers. McNamee said the annual pay hike will average 3.9 percent over the five-year life of the contract.

The district has 129 teachers — 63 in the elementary and 66 in the high school.

Mohawk’s figures show the high school has more than 800 students and the elementary, nearly 900.

With the new contract, McNamee noted, those students “are the real winners here.”

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