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Dates & Deadlines
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Teachers
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Provisional Teachers
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Paraprofessionals
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Substitutes
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Contract Highlights
Contractual Benefit Package for All Teachers*
By Richard Stutman, BTU President
Provisional teachers (*) are eligible to take advantage
of a range of contractual benefits and provisions that have resulted from
years of collective bargaining between the School Department and the Boston
Teachers Union. A summary of many of the more important benefits and provisions
follows.
For more information, please review the adjoining letter and the BTU Contract.
Where mentioned, the BTU office can forward more detailed information.
Please feel free to call or email me ( rstutman@btu.org
). Also please note that each school has elected BTU Representatives,
who can provide more detailed information.
(*) includes nurses, psychologists, etc., and all other covered members
NB: Page reference in contract applies to the “old” contract. The new contract with new pagination will be available in October 2004.
Salary&
Health Benefits |
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| Benefit | How Takes Effect | How To Learn More | |
| Salary Step Placement | Up to 3 years' credit for both inside and outside the system, (6 total) if service meets certain criteria. | You must apply with app. and documentation. Not necessarily retroactive, so do not delay in filing. | See www.btu.org
, also contract pp. 115-120 or call the BTU office at 617-288-2000. If information is not readily available at www.btu.org , please email rstutman@btu.org . |
| Salary Lane Placement |
B+15, Masters, M15, 30, 45, 60, Doctorate ( New Item: Masters 75 to take effect 9/1/05) |
You must apply and supply documentation. Not necessarily retroactive ; do not delay in filing | See BTU contract pp. 121-125 or www.btu.org |
| Health Insurance | 6 different plans, HMO and out-of-network, beginning at $31.32/mo. (individual), $84.36/mo family, as of 7/1/04 | You must apply w/i 60 days of date of hire. Deadline is FIRM. New dependents must be added within 30 days. |
See BTU or call Key word: Health Benefit |
| Medicare | Anyone entering public employment after 3/31/86 must pay Medicare tax & is eligible for coverage @ age 65, provided he/she has 10 years' service. | Employees pay 1.45% of gross wages. Deductions are mandatory and continue with employment. | http://www.ssa.gov/ mediinfo.htm or call the BTU office |
| Health and Welfare | Includes Dental, Eye Care, and Legal benefit. City pays plan premium, but some benefits have co-pays. Terrific Benefit! |
Apply at BTU H&W office or at 288-0500. Benefit effective at start of prov. contract, but implementation can be delayed |
Call BTU H &W @ 617-288-0500 or see http://www.btuhwf.org |
| New Salary Item—JD Degree | Those with a JD now will move over one academic lane for salary purposes | Access information on www.btu.org | New Benefit took effect 9/1/03 |
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NEW Salary Item: Tuition Reimbursement |
All permanent teachers on ‘steps' 1-9 (9 for the 1 st time) get up $500/yr |
Newly-negotiated, this takes effect 9/1/04, and is paid as reimbursement for tuition |
See www.btu.org ; more information will be out n ext year |
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NEW Salary Item: NBCT Teachers |
National Board Certified Teachers now get a 4% raise |
Newly-negotiated, this raise took effect 9/1/03 |
See www.btu.org for more information |
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Dependent Care Program |
Use pre-tax dollars for dependent care; excellent tax benefit |
Apply within 30 days of hire or during Open Enrollment beg. mid-October; |
Email me for more information or call CPA, Inc. @ 1-800-544-2340 or Group Insurance at 635-4570 |
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Flexible Spending Program |
Use pre-tax dollars for out-of-pocket medical expenses; excellent tax benefit |
Same as dependent care (above), but additional eligibility requirement of one year's service |
Same as dependent care; email rstutman@btu.org |
| Life Insurance |
City sponsors plan |
First $5000 of term coverage comes with purchase of health insurance. ½ of premium for first $5000 coverage paid by the city; rest paid by employee |
Call 617-635-4570 for more information. You are strongly advised to shop around to private vendors for best cost before purchasing additional insurance beyond the standard $5000. |
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Disability Coverage |
Public Pension Law grants limited coverage for total disability, none for short-term disability |
Public coverage is inadequate & eligibility is restrictive. If you desire adequate coverage, you'll need to purchase it privately |
Call the BTU for more info. |
Major (but Non-Inclusive) List of Contractual
Working Conditions |
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What does it do |
Summary Details |
How to Learn More |
Class Size Maxima; Caseloads |
Enforces class size maxima and caseloads. Important benefit. |
Too lengthy to list here; Ask building rep at school for class size fact sheet |
Contract pp. 34-36, speak with BTU Building Rep.; call BTU. New Caseloads in effect ; see www.btu.org |
Sick Days |
Grants paid leave when ill, up to time accumulated |
15 days granted per year; unused days accumulate & have cash value at separation after 10 years of service |
Contract pp. 137-8; see building rep at school, call BTU |
Personal Leave |
Grants paid leave for personal reasons |
4 days per year; unused days accumulate; new item —used to be three |
Contract pp. 139-140; see building rep at school, call BTU |
Professional Leave |
Grants limited paid leave to attend educational conferences
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Limited system wide allotment distributed to individual staff on a pro-rata basis |
Contract p 98; see building rep at school, call BTU |
Bereavement Leave |
Grants paid leave under limited circumstances |
Depends on family relationship |
Contract pp. 140; see building rep at school, call BTU |
Religious Holy Days |
Grants paid leave under limited circumstances |
Depends on holiday specifics |
Contract pp. 140; see building rep at school, call BTU |
Maternity Leave |
Grants paid as well as unpaid leave & city continues to pay its share of health coverage |
Paid mat. time limited by number of sick days accrued; |
Contract pp. 141-143 |
Leave for Adoption |
Grants paid as well as unpaid leave |
limited to 40 days per school year if you have ‘accumulated' days in your bank; used to be 30 days |
Contract, p. 138 |
Leave for Family Illness |
Grants paid leave for family member's illness |
limited to 30 days per school year if accumulated, though more can be granted |
Contract, p. 138 |
Planning and Development Time |
Grants staff unassigned time when one is not given a programmed duty or responsibility. P&D periods are ‘teacher directed,' i.e., teacher alone decides what he/she does during that period |
Middle and High teachers—5 full-length periods (48+ minutes per) per week. Elem. Teachers—5 per week, with one per week ‘administratively' directed |
Contract pp. 41-43; see building rep at school, call BTU.
N.B. Specialists and Itinerant Specialists get identical benefit of individual grade levels |
Duty-Free Lunch |
Grants daily duty-free time to all for lunch, in addition to daily P&D time |
Middle and High teachers—no less than 25 minutes per day; Elem.—no less than 40 |
Contract pp. 43-44; see building rep at school, call BTU |
Retirement, Tax-Deferred Savings Plans |
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Participation |
Details |
More Information |
Public Pension |
Participation is mandatory under state law; vested employees obtain a pension at retirement |
See attached; call the BTU for more information |
See http://www.cityofboston |
Participation in a 403(b) or a Tax-Sheltered Annuity (TSA) plan |
Participation is voluntary; 40 plus vendors to choose from. The number of vendors is likely to change. |
Pre-tax salary contributions grow tax-deferred until withdrawn |
Call the BTU for more information |
Participation in the State's Deferred Compensation or 457 Program |
Participation is voluntary; state-chosen vendor is ING |
Pre-tax salary contributions grow tax-deferred until withdrawn |
Call the BTU for more information and/or ING (617-768-4839) |
Social Security |
Mass. public employees do not pay into SS; employees can, however, accrue SS credits at any time in non-public employment |
Those with SS credits can combine SS pension with teacher (public) pension, but some restrictions and offsets generally apply |
Call the BTU for detailed, written explanation
or go to http://www.ssa.gov/ For a discussion of the |
Miscellaneous |
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Job-Sharing |
½ salary, ½ position |
Full benefits | Email awashington@btu.org |
Grievance Rights
As a covered member you have a right to an interpretation of any provision of the collective bargaining agreement. In the event of an uncertainty or dispute regarding any provision of the Contract cited above (or any other provision, for that matter), it is in your best interest to call the BTU or speak with a building representative.
Most contractual disputes are resolved informally. However, in the event an issue cannot be resolved, you have a right to have the BTU proceed with a grievance on your behalf should the Contract support your claim.
Other Major Contract Items to be aware of
Class size —We have tenaciously fought for class size reductions over the last two decades. They are most important to us, most important to the children we teach. Please see the attached schedule of permissible class size numbers. If any of your classes is in violation of the allowed maxima, please speak to your BTU building rep. and he/she will make sure that the grievance is promptly filed. Procrastination does not pay. File your grievance when the maximum is exceeded. A student who has been enrolled and who has not been discharged counts on your class roster.
Salary —New Teachers, Paraprofessionals, and Substitute teachers—Are you on the correct salary step and lane? Check your pay stub and match it against what your correct pay ought to be. Pay grids are on our web page, www.btu.org
Benefit matrix —major benefits, rights—See below
School Year, 18 Hours, Extra Time, etc.
Few topics result in as many questions to the BTU office. Following is an explanation of the length of the school year.
The School year is divided up into a few components:
- The first two days
- The 180 schools days when class is in session
- January 3 rd —All day Professional Day
- 18 hours of professional development
- #'s 1 and 2 are set and accounted for.
- #'s 3 and 4 are yet to be done in most cases. (Some schools have already ‘done' some of items 3 and 4.
For most of our membership, there is a maximum of
24 hours outstanding LEFT to do professional development this year, as
January 3 rd can be converted to 6 hours. There are a few rules
that have been set in place regarding this extra time, either the 24 hours
or the 18 hours plus January 3 rd .
Each staff by a majority vote* (secret ballot, five days notice, run by
the BTU Building Rep.) can convert January 3 rd to 6 hours. The vote includes
the length of the meetings and the dates of the meetings, 6 hours in all.
This vote should have been taken last June, but can be re-voted this September
(by the 15 th ) if more than 25% of the staff is new to the building.
(* By the way, all votes run by the BTU Building Rep. should be run the same way: secret ballot with five days' notice to staff; the election to be run by the Building Rep. without the principal present.)
The 18 hours, too, is subject to a faculty vote, as above. However, the vote is for the scheduling only—not the content. The scheduling includes the length of meetings and the dates of the meetings, 18 hours total. The administrator has to agree on the schedule and in effect has veto power over it. The faculty, too, has to approve the 18-hour schedule by majority vote and has in effect has veto power. If the parties cannot come to agreement, three professional development days are added to the end of the school year INSTEAD of the 18 hours.
In sum, the staff votes whether to convert January 3 rd or not, and then depending on the January 3 rd vote, on the scheduling of either the 18hrs (without the conversion) or the 24 hours (with the conversion). The principal/headmaster has no say on the conversion of the January 3 rd day, but has to agree on the scheduling of the 18 hours.
The Professional Development content belongs exclusively to the administrator and participants get PDP-certificates for their attendance.
What if you are absent on a day when a portion of the 18 hours are scheduled ?
- If you are on legitimate leave (bereavement, sick, personal, etc.) and you miss a day when there is scheduled a 2 hour or less Professional Development meeting, you do not have to make up the time.
- If you are on legitimate leave (bereavement, sick, personal, etc.) and you miss a day when there is scheduled a meeting that is longer than 2 hours, you do have to make up the time.
- If you are in school and have to leave during the day of a scheduled PD meeting of any duration, you owe the time.
What if your administrator schedules a 40-hour math (etc.) workshop?
Anything over either the 24 (with the conversion) or the 18 (without) as mentioned above is voluntary, no matter how worthy and valuable.