The West Irondequoit Central School District Board of Education unanimously ratified a successor collective bargaining agreement with the West Irondequoit Teachers Association and approved a $50,095 donation from the West Irondequoit Foundation at a study session Thursday evening.

The board voted 6-0 to ratify the tentative agreement covering July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2029, and authorized the superintendent to execute the contract and appropriate any additional funds necessary to implement its terms. The donation vote, also 6-0, authorized receipt of $50,095 and acceptance of a slate of grants administered by the West Irondequoit Foundation.

Why it matters: The contract sets the district's labor terms for four school years and triggered board authorization to adjust district appropriations as needed. The foundation grants will fund a set of classroom and extracurricular items the district said go beyond its regular operating budget.

What the board approved and discussed
- Collective bargaining agreement: The board ratified the successor agreement with the West Irondequoit Teachers Association (WITA) for the 2025-26 through 2028-29 school years. Board materials state the ratification authorizes the superintendent to execute the agreement and approves appropriation of funds required to implement it. District negotiators described the talks as collaborative; WITA representatives attended the meeting and posed for a commemorative photo with the board after the vote.

- West Irondequoit Foundation donation and grants: The board approved receipt of $50,095 from the West Irondequoit Foundation. District staff described the grants as distributed across multiple schools and programs. Items listed in the meeting summary include support for science-of-reading instructional training; student work display panels at the high school; a "Viking for All" biking apparatus intended to support students in physical education; a Math and Movement program at Rogers tied to Ready Math curriculum; sound equipment for music programs; and seed funding to expand the drama club at Rogers Middle School.

- Personnel and stipends: The board reviewed a first reading of personnel items including recommended tenure actions (fall tenure dates for counselors, speech-language pathologists, social workers, two special-education teachers and two teacher assistants), changes in employment status for food-service staff, classified hires including a licensed practical nurse and a grounds aide, long-term substitute recommendations, and security staff completion of probationary periods. The board also reviewed winter coaching stipends (described as a first iteration) and approved extracurricular stipends; administrators said stipend levels will be updated to reflect the newly ratified contract and that retroactive pay for coaches and club advisors will be discussed with WITA.

- Governance items: Board members reviewed the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA) proposed resolutions booklet and did not identify items they opposed; one board member said he would follow up with the regional representative after the NYSSBA regional meeting. The board also discussed three proposed board goals for 2025-26: (1) develop a standard operating procedures (SOP) manual documenting board norms and processes, (2) expand new-member onboarding and ongoing professional development, and (3) improve meeting flow to increase efficiency and accessibility. The SOP timeline in board materials targets a high-level outline by November, draft documentation by early April, a first review in May and final board approval by July 1.

Votes at a glance
- Approve agenda as amended: Motion approved 6-0 (Miss Wall absent). (motion mover/second recorded in the minutes: motion by Mister Begg; second by Mister Schoppel). See provenance.
- Accept donation from West Irondequoit Foundation, $50,095: Approved 6-0. See provenance.
- Ratify West Irondequoit Teachers Association successor agreement (07/01/2025''1/06/30/2029): Approved 6-0. Board authorized superintendent to execute agreement and appropriated any additional funds necessary. See provenance.
- Approve extracurricular stipends (dated 10/02/2025): Approved 6-0. See provenance.
- Waive second reading of the 10/02/2025 personnel agenda: Approved 6-0. See provenance.
- Approve personnel agenda dated 10/02/2025: Approved 6-0. See provenance.
- Approve consent agenda (items H2'H3 including special-occasion, special-education recommendations and surplus equipment): Approved 6-0. See provenance.

Discussion details and next steps
District leaders said the teacher contract negotiations were collaborative and spanned sessions from February through September; negotiators on both sides participated over the summer. The board will discuss retroactive stipend adjustments for coaches and club advisors with WITA after the contract implementation details are finalized. Superintendent Johnson noted open houses and a planned ribbon-cutting event for an alternative or shared campus facility with an open-house window on Monday, Oct. 2, and said staff will transition occupancy over the following month.

The board set a timeline to finalize its governance goals and SOP manual before the end of the school year and said a regional NYSSBA meeting scheduled for Saturday will produce more updates for the Oct. 16 business meeting.

What the board did not decide
The board moved into an executive session at the end of the meeting to discuss the superintendent's employment history and performance goals; no actions from that executive session were recorded in the public minutes.

Ending note
All recorded public motions at the Oct. 2 study session passed by unanimous votes of the six board members present; one board member, Miss Wall, was absent due to travel. The board plans a business meeting Oct. 16, when several first-read items (personnel, coaching stipends, SOP and goals) are scheduled for final action.