Dozens of teachers and parents braved frigid temperatures to voice their outrage about the fiscal irresponsibility they say is taking place at a Jamaica charter school during a rally on Dec. 22.
The protesters are furious that Merrick Academy is spending $1.3 million in management fees on Victory Schools, a for-profit management company — that’s 25 percent of the school’s total annual budget, while they claim teachers and students are suffering.
“We’re here to be treated fairly,” said Margorie Berry, a Pre-K teacher at Merrick. “We don’t feel like we’re getting the respect we deserve. Our salaries have been frozen for a year and a half now. We just want the best for our kids and we want our teachers to stay, but the way we are being treated, teachers are going to be leaving.”
But according to James Stovall, chief administrative officer for Victory, the teachers have received their full salaries plus an annual 3 to 5 percent raise for the last seven years. It was only when they decided to join the United Federation of Teachers that their pay became stagnant, which he said the law allows while union members are in the process of negotiating a contract. Once the negotiations are completed, raises can resume and may even be retroactive.
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