Despite the snow day closing of schools, members of the UTN and District negotiations teams met with mediator Jay Siegel, at the offices of Ingerman Smith in Hauppauge, yesterday afternoon.

Representing the District were Board Trustees David Badanes and Jennifer Thompson, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Rosemarie Coletti as well as Board Counsel John Gross and Board Counsel Rachel Lorig. The entire UTN Negotiations Team, along with NYSUT Labor Relations Specialist Sean Callahan, was present.

Mr. Siegel began by briefly speaking with the UTN team, reviewing the plan for the session. With the two parties now in separate locations, Mr. Siegel met with the District and then UTN. As the afternoon turned into evening, he continued shuttling between the parties. There was also a small group meeting which included UTN President Blanck, NYSUT Labor Relations Specialist Callahan, Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Coletti and Board Counsel Gross, along with Mediator Siegel.

Dialogue throughout the evening was productive and progress was made in some areas. As anticipated, the majority of discussion focused on financial matters.

At the conclusion of the session, the UTN team reconvened in the NYSUT Regional Office to debrief and begin preparations for the next session. Two team meetings have also been scheduled, in advance of the next session, in order to review and discuss the research and “number crunching” which will be completed by President Blanck and Labor Relations Specialist Callahan in the coming days.

Due to a scheduling conflict which has developed for the mediator, the next session, originally scheduled for mid-February has been moved to early March. The teams will return to the table on Wednesday, March 4th.

We will continue to keep you informed of the process. Thank you for your continued support!