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Scotia‑Glenville teacher negotiator calls for renewed bargaining and a salary‑schedule overhaul
Summary
Jeff Denny, a fifth‑grade teacher and SGTA negotiator, told the board he and other teachers want the district to return to bargaining after administrators filed for impasse and raised concerns about the district's hiring‑step practice that places new hires at step 12 for projection purposes, which he said stems from uncompetitive step‑1 wages.
Jeff Denny, a fifth‑grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School and vice president and chief negotiator for the Scotia‑Glenville Teachers Association (SGTA), urged the board to press the administration to resume talks and reconsider the district's salary‑schedule projections.
Denny said he has taught in the district since 1995 and described a gradual shift "away from that [shared decision‑making] model and towards a more top‑down approach," which he said has contributed to declining staff morale. He urged renewed collaboration across stakeholders and asked the board to encourage the administration to return to the bargaining table rather than pursue impasse and outside arbitration.
On salary structure, Denny said the district uses step‑12 on a step‑23 salary schedule when projecting the placement of replacement hires for retired teachers. He explained the practice is driven by a low step‑1 salary that makes hiring on early steps uncompetitive; as a result, he said, the district presently has "0 members on steps 1 through 4." That dynamic, he warned, accelerates the pace at which new hires reach top steps and increases long‑term fiscal pressure and resentment among long‑serving staff.
Denny said the SGTA has proposed a comprehensive restructuring of the salary schedule but that the district had chosen not to resume negotiations and instead had filed for impasse. He asked the board to support renewed talks and creative approaches to retain and recruit teachers.
Board and administration response: Supt. Swartz acknowledged dialogue with association leadership and said the administration had taken some outreach steps; she and other board members said they hope to continue collaborative problem‑solving. The district did not take formal action on negotiations at the meeting.
What was not decided: the board did not adopt a new salary schedule or vote on negotiation strategy; Denny's statements are a public request for the board to press the administration to pursue bargaining rather than arbitration.
