Since January 23, 2017, the rumor/threat of closing the ECC program at Mill Neck has caused a tremendous amount angst and concern among both the parents of our students and our members. We were told on January 24th the school would be closing, then on January 25th the DEC staff was told the school was probably closing. The Union advocated for students and parents asking the School that at a minimum, keep the program open for the summer to allow parents more time to find a new placement for their child. The School has the ability to run the summer program as per the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), yet told the Union that they would “consider” keeping the school open for an additional six weeks but that they wanted to negotiate over it. The Union rejected this idea since negotiations are not necessary, and on January 30, 2017, requested in writing that the school give a written proposal if they had an idea on how to keep the school open. That letter can be found here. Rather than give a response to the Union, CEO Michael Killian issued a statement to parents and the press that the troubles with the ECC were due to “above average” labor costs, and hoped the Union would work with the School. That statement can be found here. In response, MNMEA issued a statement later that day that can be found here. Additionally, MNMEA did an analysis of the salary data and the reported revenues, and dispute the assertion that labor costs are the cause for the ECC’s on-going financial problems. This is the analysis.
On February 15, 2017, the School’s attorney sent our NYSUT Labor Relations Specialist (LRS) a letter, which was then distributed by the School on February 16, 2017 to ECC staff and parents. That letter can be found here. On February 16, 2017 our LRS sent the School’s attorney a response, which can be found here. It closes with:
“The union welcomes a counter-proposal on the 2015-2016 wage reopener if the school has one. As for the ECC program and possible closure, the union welcomes transparency of the issue, including the audited financial statements of the last three years that support the losses the school claims they are experiencing due to the ECC program. We also repeat our request made January 30, 2017 for a written proposal from the school on an alternative to closing the ECC program.”