Newtown Education Negotiation Calculators

Negotiable Plan for Newtown Board of Education

This summary presents key negotiation points between the Newtown Board of Education and the Newtown Teachers' Association.

Issue	Board's Position	Teachers' Likely Position	Proposed Compromise
Staff Reduction	System-wide staff reductions due to budget constraints; final authority with the board; informal input from teachers.	Minimize layoffs; ensure fair process and job security.	Form a joint committee to recommend staff reduction plans; board retains final authority but commits to transparency. Extend layoff notifications to 15 working days and recall response to 5 days.
Workload	Increase pupil/teacher ratio to 35; eliminate 50-minute prep time; remove 50-minute duty-free time; assign additional duties without pay.	Oppose ratio increase; maintain prep and duty-free time; resist additional duties.	Increase ratio to 34; retain 30-minute prep time; maintain 50-minute duty-free period (flexible split: 30 minutes lunch, 20 minutes duty); limit additional duties to 50 minutes weekly with overtime or stipends.
Teacher Evaluation	Consultant-led evaluation system for pay, tenure, and removals; unannounced visitations; minimal association input.	Fair evaluation system with teacher input; no punitive measures.	Jointly select consultant and co-develop criteria; use evaluations for development and tenure initially (one-year trial); limit unannounced visitations to 20% of total evaluations.
Salary	Raises tied to layoffs or new funds; 3% cost-of-living cap; budget constraints limit flexibility.	Demand raises and competitive entry salary to attract new hires.	2% raise in year one (funded by administrative cuts); 1-2% in year two tied to performance or budget improvements; raise entry salary to $25,000; temporary step 10 freeze.
Binding Arbitration	Prefer advisory arbitration due to community opposition to binding arbitration.	Demand binding arbitration for fair dispute resolution.	Implement advisory arbitration for six months, transitioning to binding arbitration with guidelines if successful; hold public forums to address community concerns.
Benefits	Minimize new costs; maintain 5-day sick leave; increase bereavement to 2 days; limit civic duty pay; childbirth leave within sick leave totals.	Seek enhanced benefits, especially separate leave categories.	Increase bereavement to 2 days (with 3-day exception clause); maintain 5-day sick leave with 10-day accumulation over two years; provide jury duty pay without deduction; offer 8-week (female) and 3-week (male) childbirth leave as separate entitlements.
Contract Duration	Prefer a three-year contract for stability.	Prefer a one-year contract for flexibility.	Agree to a two-year contract with a mid-term review.
Strike Avoidance	Not applicable (focus on avoiding strike through negotiation).	Leverage strike threat to pressure the board.	Include a mediation clause and a 30-day negotiation deadline; offer a one-time bonus (funded by program cuts) for early contract signing.

Key Financial Information:

Current budget deficit: $1,212,740
Total current teacher salaries: $11,221,500 for 375 teachers
Average salary per teacher: $29,924
Current teacher-to-student ratio: 1:32 (375 teachers for 12,000 students)
Proposed ratio: Between 1:34 and 1:37 depending on final agreement

1. Staff Reduction Impact Calculator

Number of teachers to lay off:

Average salary per teacher ($):

Severance (months):

Total salary savings: $0

Total severance cost: $0

Net savings: $0

Impact on budget deficit: 0% of current deficit ($1,212,740)

2. Workload Adjustment Model

Teacher-to-student ratio (1:X):

Total students:

Current teachers:

Teachers needed: 0

Teachers to lay off: 0

Salary savings: $0

Impact on budget deficit: 0% of current deficit ($1,212,740)

3. Salary Scenarios Calculator

Year 1 raise (%):

Year 2 raise (%):

New entry-level salary ($):

Current total salaries ($):

Current salary cost: $11,221,500

Year 1 salary cost: $0

Year 2 salary cost: $0

Additional cost over 2 years: $0

Impact on budget deficit: 0% per year (of current deficit)

4. Benefits Cost Calculator

Benefit Type:

Estimated cost per teacher ($):

Number of affected teachers:

Total benefit cost: $0

Impact on budget deficit: 0% of current deficit ($1,212,740)

5. Contract Duration Budget Projections

Annual income growth rate (%):

Annual expenditure change (%):

Staff reduction savings ($):

Contract duration (years):

Year	Income ($)	Expenditures ($)	Deficit/Surplus ($)

6. Strike Impact Analysis

Daily strike cost ($):

Strike duration (days):

Community impact rating:

Total strike cost: $0

Lost instructional days: 0 out of 190 required days

Percentage of annual budget: 0%

Community impact assessment: Medium

7. Income and Expenditures Calculator

Income

Local Tax ($):

State ($):

Federal ($):

Expenditures

Administrative ($):

Instruction ($):

- Teachers' Salaries ($):

- Fringes ($):

- Aides ($):

- Materials/Supplies ($):

Plant Operation/Maintenance ($):

Fixed Charges ($):

Debt Service ($):

Transportation ($):

Category	Current Budget ($)	Adjusted Budget ($)	Difference ($)
Total Income	27,016,660	0	0
Total Expenditures	28,229,400	0	0
Deficit/Surplus	-1,212,740	0	0

Budget Deficit Change: 0%

Impact Assessment: Neutral

8. Teachers' Step Salary Calculator

Modify the number of teachers at each step or salary amounts to see the budget impact.

Step	Salary ($)	Number of Teachers	Cost ($)	% of Total
Entry			$0	0%
Step 1			$460,000	4.1%
Step 2			$480,000	4.3%
Step 3			$650,000	5.8%
Step 4			$728,000	6.5%
Step 5			$715,000	6.4%
Step 6			$655,500	5.8%
Step 7			$649,000	5.8%
Step 8			$465,000	4.1%
Step 9			$512,000	4.6%
Step 10			$5,907,000	52.6%
Totals	Average: $29,924	375	$11,221,500	100%

Scenario Comparison

Current Total Salary Cost:	$11,221,500
New Total Salary Cost:	$11,221,500
Difference:	$0
Current Teachers:	375
New Teacher Count:	375
Budget Impact:	0% of deficit

Quick Scenarios

Apply changes to budget calculations: