Webutuck employees end year without contracts

WEBUTUCK — Teachers and civil service employees, including teacher’s assistants, bus drivers, custodial workers and school nurses, are all currently working without a contract in the Webutuck school district.

Despite negations that have taken place throughout the year, district Superintendent Richard Johns said the district is at an impasse with the Webutuck Teachers Association.

"The real issues with the contract is work day hours, salary and health insurance," Johns said. "The district recently hired mediator Al Vianni and he’s worked as an arbitrator for maybe 35 years."

Johns said the role of the mediator is to try to see if the two sides come up with a mutual agreement.

"We can have meetings with the mediator for up to three meetings, and so far we have had two," Johns said. "If that does not work, then the fact finder comes in. In that mode, the fact finder will determine whether or not one side has more merit than the other."

He said he could not predict when a contract would be reached between the district and the teachers.

"It’s hard to say," he said. "I liken it to some sort of compression. If you squeeze it together too much, it blows apart."

Meanwhile, workers who are members of the district’s Civil Service Employees Association [CSEA] have been working without a contract for a year and a half. Union leader Doris Ostrander, who works at Amenia Elementary School, said she is frustrated that the school board has not met with the union for quite some time.

"There has been no response from the school board whatsoever," Ostrander said. "Morale is way down. To me, there is no more ‘we’ in Webutuck."

She said the district spending money on lawyers is not helping taxpayers.

"Instead, we could use the money towards the salary and insurance for the people who work at the school," she said. "Insurance is the real sticking point. We pay more for health insurance than any school district around."

She said that she hopes the union will meet with the district sometime soon.

"All I know is that we gave the board a packet [of information] that spelled out everything and so far we have heard nothing," she said. "If we could meet with the school board, we could have a contract."

Nancy Gagne, head of the Webutuck Teachers Union, did not return calls for comment by press time.