BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Public Schools Board of Education announced on Friday that they unanimously approved a tentative contract agreement with the Buffalo teachers union, moving teachers one step closer to ending more than three years of negotiations.
Superintendent Dr. Tonja Williams said she was excited about the motion.
"I want every single one of our teachers to feel valued, and I am just feeling really great that I was a part of a team that operated with integrity for a board that trusted what we were doing to bring this forward," Williams said.
The deal will still need to be approved by the Buffalo Teachers Federation before it goes into effect.
The biggest hang-up preventing this agreement for teachers was health care premiums for new hires when they retire. But teachers agreed to eliminate retiree health care for teachers hired on or after June 30, 2026.
Those who are hired on or after that date will be eligible to sell back sick days or take advantage of early retirement incentives that go toward the cost of health care.
"A key factor in this is that the board stood strong on what had to be in the contract, and that if it was not delivered. And trust me, we felt a lot was delivered, but we got there," said Sharon Belton-Cottman, who is the Buffalo Board of Education president.
Another key piece to the contract are salaries. Over the next three and a half years teachers will get a 21% raise. In addition all active, full-time teachers will get a one-time 10% bonus. This will increase the average salary from $72,000 to $91,000.
"We're in a time of inflation. We want teachers to feel valued. We want our teachers to know that we respect their work. They are valued and we appreciate what they do," Williams said.
The board said it is excited about the unanimous approval.
BPS Superintendent Dr. Tonja Williams has attended almost all of the negotiation meetings and shared this message with Buffalo school teachers:
"This board of education and this superintendent values and respects the work that they do. They do life-altering, life-changing work, and so if this board did not believe that they're worth every penny, trust me, we wouldn't have gotten the unanimous vote that we got today."
The teachers union will be approving the new contract on Monday. That vote is scheduled to happen at Kleinhans Music Hall.