An agreement to extend the contract between the Katonah-Lewisboro school district and its teachers’ union was approved by a margin of 4 to 3 during Thursday’s school board meeting.

Preter Breslin called it one of the most difficult decisions that he has ever made in his six and a half-years stint as a member of the school board. He said the majority of the community response that he has received regarding the deal has been negative.

“My guess is that, at the moment, 75 percent [of the community] would be against it and I certainly understand why,” said Breslin, who voted for the agreement along with Michael Gordon, Mark Lipton and  Janet Harckham.  

The memorandum of agreement extends the current contract that the district has with Katonah-Lewisboro Teachers' Association by two years.  The teachers’ current deal expires June 30.

The teachers' association approved the agreement last month.

On face value, the memorandum of agreement will cost the district $1.385 million. The district would be looking at a cost of $1.274 million if it went two years under a lapsed contract under the Triborough Amendment to the Taylor Law, according to Michael Jumper, the district’s assistant superintendent of business.

The Triborough Amendment states many of the details of an expired must stay in effect until a new deal is reached.  Cost of living salary increases are excluded from the amendment.

But the memorandum of agreement has the potential to give the district additional savings, with the most dramatic savings coming through the retirement incentive program that was negotiated in the deal.

Teachers who inform the district that they plan to retire at the end of the 2012-2013 school year will receive a $10,000 retirement incentive. The union will contribute toward a portion of the incentive. Teachers must inform the district of their plans by Jan. 21 to be eligible for the incentive.

Jumper said one retirement could save the district an additional $55,000. Jumper said Thursday that three teachers have already announced their plans to retire.

Proponents of the agreement also argued that the deal gives the district an opportunity to sit down and discuss pertinent issues with the teachers’ union in a calm manner. The agreement stipulates the union and district must meet four times a year during the term of the deal to discuss solutions to issues that are driving up the budget.

Breslin said he understood why the community would be against the agreement, given the difficult economic circumstances that many families are facing.

“The community elects us to do what is right, regardless of the political wince,” Breslin said.

Warren Schloat, who voted against the agreement along with Eve Hundt and Peter Treyz, worried about the financial implications the second year of the agreement will have on the school district.

In November, Jumper presented an economic forecast that showed the budget might need to increase by about 4.9 percent in 2012-2013 to preserve existing staffing and program. If the district wanted to bring that number down to 2 percent, an additional 15 to 20 teaching positions would have to be cut, according to Jumper.

“We basically want to have the best education that we can have for our kids,” Schloat said. “We don’t want to have anymore cuts, because in the past we had to cut staff in order to have an acceptable budget. That’s very important and I’m wondering how just two or three retirees will effect year two.”

Jumper warned that his forecast for 2012-2013 is unreliable. But Jumper gave a rough calculation and said the district could save two teaching  positions for every teacher who retired.

Treyz said that he’s spoken to numerous people about the agreement they all disapproved of the deal. He said the agreement is irrational and he believes it only delays the board’s ability to begin serious negotiations with the teachers’ association.

“Our people in our community are losing jobs,” Treyz said. “We have to do something, whatever it is, and it may not just be renegotiating a new contract. We have to do something to stop our taxes from going up in this community. In another 15 years, at the rate we’re going now, our school budget will be $200 million.”

Hundt agreed. In the past, when community members asked board members to be more proactive in addressing teacher salaries, Hundt said the board would respond by saying they were hampered by contractual restrictions.

“Now we’re looking at a June date and I’m very concerned about not seizing an opportunity to try and make some change,” Hundt said.

Lipton said he was frustrated by the board’s inability to negotiate a tougher deal. But he said it is difficult to have hard negotiations with the teachers’ association because the Taylor Law gives the union the upper hand.

Lipton also said some of the factors that are driving up the budget increases, such as the teacher and employee retirement system, are issues that can only by addressed by the state government.

“We’re fighting with our hands tied behind our backs,” Lipton said. “The Triborough Amendment of the Taylor Law guarantees that you’ll never get a punch off. So if you want to have a fight, it makes no sense. What does make sense is to say come sit with us, we’ve got big problems, there’s only 351 of you left, we want to keep as many of you that we can.”