Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a preliminary agreement on a new contract with the United Federation of Teachers. The agreement covers nine years, retroactive from November 1, 2009, through October 31, 2018, with total pay increases of approximately 18%. Other provisions include an agreement to implement yet to be finalized changes in employee health care intended to save at least $3.4 billion, a loosening of regulations intended to allow greater control by individual principals and teachers, an increase in parent/teacher interactions, changes in teacher professional development and evaluations and an enhanced ability of the City to terminate teachers who behave inappropriately and teachers who are in the Absent Teacher Reserve.
Here is the mayor’s full press Q&A, addressing on-topic questions only.