OGDENSBURG — With more than 40 teaching positions lost in the Ogdensburg City School District in the past five years, the head of the teachers union is calling out district administrators for taking raises.

Ogdensburg Education Association President David G. Price said this year’s 3.75 percent pay increase to administrative officials is a result of a process heavily stacked in favor of the administration.

“My concern is that the scale always tips towards administrators and away from teachers,” he said.

At a Board of Education meeting Aug. 6, the board approved 3.75 percent raises for principals, secretaries, the assistant superintendent and the superintendent. Under a three-year agreement with the district’s supervisory unit, administrators will receive no raise next year and a 2.75 percent increase the third year.

“My opinion would simply be that the board has solved its budget problems and we look forward to seeing the same raises in our upcoming teacher contracts,” Mr. Price said.

Board President Frederick P. Bean said Mr. Price’s comments show that the union is “ready to go into negotiations.”

Teacher contracts will expire in June, and the administration and teachers union will being negotiations this fall.

“We have not solved our budget problems,” Mr. Bean said. “I anticipate next year will be worse.”

Mr. Bean said that even with its financial problems, the district gave a 3.75 percent raise to teachers this year.

“If you take the overall cost, it cost a lot more to give the teachers a raise,” Mr. Bean said.

Mr. Price, however, said, “We received wage increases in exchange for insurance contributions.”

Before this year, teachers were not responsible for health insurance contributions. Mr. Bean said teachers are paying roughly 5 percent, compared with 12 percent for administrative officials.

Mr. Bean also said a pay freeze will take effect in 2013-14 for principals, the assistant superintendent and the superintendent. The freeze does not include secretaries, who are part of the supervisory unit.

The pay freeze will take place even while administrative officials see their health insurance contributions rise to 13 percent, Mr. Bean said.

“The truth is even if we had not given them a raise it would not have solved our problem,” he said.

“I really do agree with people getting raises,” Mr. Price said, “but when it comes on the backs of people losing their jobs, then that’s a shame.”

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