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More members use new right to transfer
Sep 20, 2007 5:15 PM
More teachers than ever before are settling into classrooms in schools of their choice this new school year as a result of the open market transfer plan — the plan that removes all restrictions on teachers initiating such moves and requires both the incoming teacher and the incoming principal to agree on the move.
By early September, 3,181 teachers, clinicians and secretaries had successfully completed transfers, up from 2,645 last year. Those numbers indicate a significant increase over the 431 transfers that took place under the prior contract’s seniority transfer plan in effect in 2005.
“The number of transfers this year is almost 10 times the number of transfers under the old seniority transfer plan,” Michael Mendel, executive assistant to the UFT president, pointed out. “In addition, more people in all seniority categories received transfers than ever before.”
Earlier concerns that replacing the seniority plan with the open market plan would adversely affect senior teachers are not borne out by the 2006 and 2007 numbers. According to official counts, 211 members with 16 to 20 years seniority transferred this year, up from 160 last year and up from 110 in 2005.
By lifting all restrictions in the open market plan, the union has provided more freedom of movement for educators. As a result, they have been far more successful in gaining requested transfers because they no longer have to fit into the allowed percentages of the seniority plan. Restrictions under that plan included, among others, a 5 percent cap on transfers in each school and a 25 percent cap on regularly appointed teachers within the same license area in junior and senior high schools.
In addition, there have been significant changes for excessed teachers. On the plus side, excessed teachers are free to interview for all vacancies instead of being assigned to a site that might be inappropriate, as had been the case. More importantly, excessed teachers who choose to stay in their districts are guaranteed a job with full pay and benefits. On the minus side, some excessed teachers — particularly from closed schools — never got interviews and instead of being in classrooms are acting as day-to-day substitutes.
The area of greatest movement has been among applicants with one to five years experience — 1,532 in ’06, 1,668 in ’07, with fewer than 100 in ’05.
Each year more members at all seniority levels have successfully taken advantage of the new freedom of the open market plan.
