Buffalo Schools and Teachers Agree On New Contract

It's pretty standard that a company and its unionized workforce need to take time to negotiate working conditions, pay, and benefits. From time to time those negotiations run into some bumps in the road. However, the struggles that the Buffalo Public Schools and Buffalo Teachers Federation have had over the years have been pretty significant.

However, thanks to years of work between both sides it seems that New York State's 2nd largest school district has finally reached a suitable work agreement with the 2nd largest teachers union in the state.

How Long Has It Been Since There Was A Contract Agreement

The last contract between the BPS and BTF expires more than 3 years ago and both sides have been in talks to negotiate a new deal since.

Many teachers have been angry that they have not had a contract in so many years, and are seeking additional financial compensation since average teacher salaries in Buffalo are below the state average. Meanwhile, school officials are seeking additional power to be able to tie student achievement results to teacher performance evaluations and other administrative changes.

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The back and forth has been on the minds of many over the years with many teachers staging walkouts and protests to raise awareness of their concerns.

What's In The New Buffalo Schools Teacher Contract?

The new contract proposal, which was made in principle between negotiators still needs to be voted on by the nearly 4,000 teachers in Buffalo, but has several things that both parties agree are fair which includes an annual 10% salary increase, plus cost of living adjustments (COLA) between 1 and 6 percent per year, and adjustments in pay grade steps which would allow teachers to reach the maximum salary level like school districts in the Buffalo suburbs.

Additional details about the new contract will be released later this week.