Teachers were underwhelmed by raises in the new union contract announced Thursday by Mayor de Blasio and their union — and worried about concessions over evaluations and merit pay.
Among the lingering uncertainties were how officials would dole out potential bonus pay ranging between $5,000 and $20,000.
“There would have to be some very fair, concrete, black-and-white requirements as to what constitutes a $20,000 bonus teacher because that’s a little bit of a sticky situation,” said Jaclyn Roberts, a photography teacher at the HS of Art and Design in Manhattan, who expressed concerns about favoritism.
Instructors also wanted to know more about the procedures to remove teachers for disciplinary infractions.
“I expected more from Bill de Blasio,” said Dennis Maragliano, a special-ed teacher at PS 77 in Brooklyn.
“At this point, we just have to take what was offered.”
Alice Ressner, a teacher at PS 321 in de Blasio’s Park Slope, Brooklyn, neighborhood, complained that the negotiations reeked of cynical politics.
“It almost seems like a game,” she said. “[The union] makes it seem like it’s so difficult to negotiate given the constraints in which de Blasio is working. He’s probably doing the best he can.”
Other teachers were relieved that they finally have a contract after working nearly five years without one.
“I’m glad they finally reached a deal with a cost-of-living increase,” said Urban Assembly Gateway School guidance counselor Jeff Makris.
But he added, “I can’t say this is a new deal that would change the face of urban education, but at least it’s something.”