Colleagues,
As you probably already know, yesterday we had another near tragedy at the Franklin campus. A stolen Kia SUV drove recklessly onto the school’s grounds nearly hitting students during dismissal. See here the link to the story on News10 NBC, including the harrowing video <https://www.whec.com/top-news/rochester-police-school-district-investigating-after-suv-narrowly-avoids-hitting-franklin-students/>. Addressing this continuing epidemic of violence and lack of security remains our foremost priority and must be addressed before, not after, a tragedy occurs.
Here’s a brief update on this and two other important topics:
– Safety and Security. We have been working with the leadership of our sister unions within the RCSD (ASAR, BENTE and RAP), with Superintendent Peluso, with Mayor Evans, and with the Rochester Police Department to improve safety and security at school premises and especially at parking lots. Superintendent Peluso has, thus far, increased the number of security personnel and the hours of School Safety Officers during arrival and dismissal times. In collaboration with the City, the District is also arranging for more strategic patrolling of school parking lots and premises and adding concrete bumpers (barriers) at campuses of schools that are most vulnerable and most affected by crimes. However, more needs to be done. Next week, together with the other three unions representing RCSD staff, we will present to the District additional and concrete proposals, including but not limited to, having security personnel at every parking lot, greater presence and visibility of police at and near school premises, adequate lighting and surveillance cameras, gates and fencing, revision of the RCSD’s student Code of Conduct to include logical consequences for criminal behavior, and providing additional social-emotional services and alternative settings for students who need them. Meanwhile, Superintendent Peluso has already agreed to our request that staff whose vehicles are victimized will be provided “hardship” time to deal with the resultant ramification – without having to draw on their sick days or personal business days. We are also finalizing an agreement with the District to reimburse affected teachers for costs related to car theft or damages that are not covered by their automobile insurance. Affected teachers must fill out a Notice of Claim form within 90 days of the incident. The form is available on the RTA website <www.rochesterteachers.com>.
– Retro Pay and Retention Incentive. As you were notified by the District earlier this week, the retroactive pay will be included in the April 21 paycheck. This is only a portion of the pay differential because the step increase (Triborough) was already included as of July 2022 and the correct new rate was applied since February 2023. So the retroactive portion is only for the difference between the step rate in July and the step rate as adjusted in February. If you have any questions, or want to verify whether your retroactive adjustment was calculated accurately, please contact RTA’s First Vice-President and Chief Negotiator John Pavone <pavrta@aol.com>, RTA Second Vice-President Margaret Sergent <mmsergent@rochesterteachers.com>, RTA Treasurer Aimee Rinere <arinere@rochesterteachers.com>, RTA Secretary Matt Lavonas <mlavonas@rochesterteachers.com>, or RTA Labor Relations Consultant Martha Keating <maskerade6@aol.com>. Please also know that the $1500 Retention Incentive will be paid out in a separate check in June. Bottom line: after our 3.8% annual raise and the $1500 Retention Incentive, we receive an average annual increase of 6.1%. This year and next.
– Unencumbered Arrival Time. At the last city-wide principals’ meeting, a Chief apparently told principals that some new language was negotiated that makes the morning 15 minutes of teachers’ reporting time no longer unencumbered time. This is simply not true. No such language was negotiated, no unencumbered time can be encumbered, there has been no change, and no time was added. We have brought this to the attention of the District and Superintendent Peluso agreed to clear up with Chiefs and principals the unnecessary confusion caused by the misinformation. If your school operates under erroneous information, please let your RTA Faculty Representative(s) know. If necessary, they will reach out to RTA’s Martha Keating or any one of the RTA officers to help resolve the problem.
Thank you for all that you do every day for all your students. We will continue to keep you informed about the progress of our efforts on your behalf. As always, please contact us if you have questions or need our assistance.
Adam Urbanski, RTA President