Colleagues,
I am pleased to inform you that, after many months of frustrating negotiations, we have finally reached an agreement with the Rochester City School District to try to “make whole” teachers who were adversely affected by the RCSD’s payroll and Oracle errors. The signed Memorandum of Agreement is attached below. Here are the highlights:
– The qualifying period for both RTA Teacher Unit and RTA’s Per Diem Substitute Teachers Unit (PDSTU) members will be from July 1, 2025 until June 30, 2026. Any alleged payroll error occurring after June 30, 2026 shall be subject to the agreed-upon grievance process.
– Qualifying “damages” for members of RTA and PDSTU will include, but are not limited to, inaccurate payments, delayed payments, underpayments, inaccurate multiple deductions, charged interest and loan fees.
– The District will pay reimbursement for financial damages plus ten percent (10%) interest to all eligible members of the RTA and PDSTU members.
– The District agreed to waive the completion of any undistributed surveys for teachers in the RTA bargaining unit accruing the requisite credits for the Professional Development Incentive (PDI). The District and RTA also agreed to Expedited Arbitration to resolve PDI eligibility for all other teachers who have not accrued the requisite PDI credits.
– All RTA Teacher Unit members, not just those directly and adversely affected by payroll errors, will receive an extra paid Personal Leave Day during the 2026-27 school year.
– RTA Teacher Bargaining Unit members, who are currently employed but who have submitted notice of retirement effective before the beginning of the next school year, will have the option to use the extra paid Personal Leave Day during the current (2025-2026) school year.
– Anyone in either the RTA Teacher Unit or the Per Diem Substitute Teachers Unit disagreeing with the District’s determination about the resolution of their claim shall have the right to appeal the District’s decision to a Joint Dispute Resolution Panel made up of one person appointed by the RTA, one person appointed by the District, and a third member acceptable to both.
Although we tried to address what can be addressed, much of what teachers and other District employees have had to endure during that nearly year-long protracted ordeal cannot be undone and, in that sense, they cannot truly be “made whole.” And we, in turn, cannot accept such mismanagement as the new normal.
We will soon communicate to you further details about the implementation of this agreement. Meanwhile, please feel free to contact any of the RTA officers if you have questions or need additional clarification.
Adam Urbanski, RTA President