Albany delivers on historic levels of education funding

State funding for public schools will increase 4% in the state budget agreement finalized this week. The final budget provides a $475 million increase for New York City public schools, including a $309 million boost in foundation aid for schools in the neediest districts in New York City. The budget also provides increased funding for UFT Teacher Centers, United Community Schools and mental health services in city schools. Following a coordinated lobbying campaign by state and city unions, the budget includes two modifications to Tier 6, the pension tier that DOE employees hired after April 1, 2012, belong to. Tier 6 pension contribution rates from April 1, 2022, to April 1, 2024, will be determined using base pay. The budget deal also reduces the service time that members of Tier 6 must accrue before their pensions vest, from 10 years to five years. “Gov. Hochul and the legislature invested in public schools and in the educators and staff who have been there for our students during the pandemic,” said UFT President Michael Mulgrew. “Albany delivered on historic levels of education funding, including funds for additional mental health support in schools. And it took steps towards making retirement for educators and public employees fairer with initial reforms to the pension system." Thank you to the chapter leaders and all our members who participated in our virtual Advocacy Week in March to make the case for more state support.

Have you checked out the Chapter Leader Hub yet?

We hope you’ve logged in to the new Chapter Leader Hub by now and have begun to use this online hub we created to support your crucial work as a chapter leader. At a glance, you can see the status of union enrollment, COPE contributions and grievances in your school chapter. You can now access the Step 1 grievance form, the consultation committee summary form and the operational issues complaint form from the hub only. You will also find a digital version of the Chapter Leader Handbook and materials from this year’s chapter leader training weekends. It’s all in one place at your fingertips. You can access the hub using your UFT website username and password. We encourage you to explore the hub and all the information and guidance it contains.

Enter the hub

Register for our Spring Education Conference in May

Online registration will begin this Thursday for the Spring Education Conference, our premier annual conference that celebrates, supports and inspires our work as public school educators. This year, we are back in person at the New York Hilton Midtown on Saturday, May 21, from 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. We’ll hold a panel discussion featuring your peers about how the school system can best address the challenges of this moment. We’ll also have CTLE workshops on teaching multilingual learners and creating resilience, an exhibit fair where CTE students show off their skills and breakfast and a gala luncheon. The registration fee for the conference is $50 per person. There is an additional cost of $15 per CTLE hour for teachers and $7.50 per CTLE hour for paraprofessionals and other UFT members who attend workshops for credit. School Leadership Team members may draw on funds allocated to the team to pay for registration fees by using the Spring Education Conference Purchase Order. For more information about paying by purchase order, see the UFT Purchase Order Memo.

Register starting April 14

April 25 deadline to request a new ballot

Ballots in the UFT election for president and other officers, Executive Board positions and convention delegates for the union’s state and national affiliates have been mailed to members’ homes. Any member who has not received a ballot by April 18 or has received an incorrect ballot should notify the American Arbitration Association by calling 800-218-5524 (Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.) or via e-mail at UlerioS@adr.org. Requests for ballots must be made no later than Monday, April 25, at 5 p.m. Ballots must be received by the independent American Arbitration Association by May 9. Caucus statements, voting instructions and Election Do’s and Don’t's can be found in the UFT Elections 2022 section of the website. If you have any questions about the UFT election process, please contact Election Chair Carl Cambria at ccambria@uft.org.

Open Market Transfer Plan period begins on April 13

The Open Market Transfer Plan offers all pedagogues, as well as paraprofessionals, access to job openings across the city. From April 13 through Aug. 8 this year, UFT members do not need a release from a principal to change schools. They can view vacancies and submit online applications via the DOE website during the open market transfer period. Under the plan, individuals can apply for any and all vacancies for which they are appropriately licensed. They may even apply to schools without current openings. We suggest following up all digital applications with a hard copy mailed to the school or a PDF sent via email to the school. It usually takes a month or so before a significant number of vacancies are posted since many principals wait until after the release of school budgets. The Open Market Transfer Plan Q&A on the UFT website offers more information about the process.