Just in time for the start of another school year, the Empire Center has updated its comprehensive SeeThroughNY database of teacher union contracts for school districts across New York State.
“For better or worse, on topics ranging from evaluation to class size and courseload limits, teacher union contracts play a significant and even decisive role in shaping educational practices in our school districts” said Tim Hoefer, executive director of the Empire Center. “By posting full contracts online, we can give parents a glimpse of the rules by which their schools are staffed and run. They also help taxpayers understand the factors driving staffing levels and compensation costs.”
A total of 310 new teachers union and superintendent contracts were added to the database. A 2014 Empire Center study found that few school districts post their contracts online, and prior to the launch of SeeThroughNY, almost none were available electronically.
The Center is also preparing to sue 11 districts for failing to comply with Freedom of Information Law requests to provide copies of their contracts. They are:
- Amagansett Union Free School District
- Brookfield Central School District
- Cassadaga Valley Central School District
- Croton-Harmon Union Free School District
- Galway Central School District
- New Suffolk Common School District
- North Warren Central School District
- Sandy Creek Central School District
- Thousand Islands Central School District
- White Plains City School District
- Whitehall Central School District
In 2015, the Empire Center prevailed and was awarded costs in a similar lawsuit against the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA).
The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies to make New York a better place to live, work and do business.
You may also like
Average Pay at Port Authority Surges as 11 Employees Collect $400k+
Eleven Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) employees collected more than $400,000 each in total pay last year as average pay surged nine percent, according to 2024 payroll , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
Read More
97 NYSLRS Retirees Eligible for Pensions Over $200K in FY2025
A total of 97 retirees from the New York State and Local Retirement System (NYSLRS) were eligible for pensions of $200,000 or more during the 2025 fiscal year, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
Among the 97 retirees Read More
23 MTA Workers Receive $200K in Overtime as Total Payroll Surpasses $8 Billion
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)’s payroll surpassed $8 billion in 2024 – a 2.6 percent increase since 2023, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website.
Overtime, as measured using payroll records, totaled $ Read More
School Districts Plan To Spend Over $35K Per Student, Outpacing Inflation
School districts presenting budgets to voters on Tuesday, May 20, plan to spend an average of $35,012 per student, up 4.6 percent from the current school year, according to new state data.
Data collected by the state Education Departme Read More
Educators Receiving $200k+ Doubles in Five Years
The number of school district employees receiving a total compensation of more than $200,000 have more than doubled since 2019, according to posted today at , the Empire Center’s transparency website. The public educator pay data are based on Fiscal Ye Read More
Median Teacher Pay Exceeds $100K in a Quarter of NY School Districts as Federal Funding Cuts Loom
A total of 186 out of 685 school districts outside New York City last year had a median classroom teacher pay over $100,000, according to , the Empire Center’s government transparency website, up from 159 five years earlier.
All eight Rockland Coun Read More
NY Schools Plan To Spend Nearly $32K Per Student
New York school districts holding budget referendums next week plan to spend an average of $31,929 per student, according to a new analysis from the Empire Center. Read More
What Are We Getting For All This Money?
Plans to hike state school aid to record levels would come as school enrollment is falling, and despite past aid hikes having failed to translate into improved student outcomes Read More