By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-12-22 19:01:08 | Word Count: 544
Teachers in the Milton Area School District got an early Christmas present this year — a four-year contract featuring raises averaging 3.43 percent per year.
Starting teachers in the district will earn more than $42,000 a year by the final year of the contract.
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On Nov. 30, the teachers’ association and the district’s negotiators accepted the recommendations of a fact finder appointed by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board after contract talks stalled earlier this year.
The school board and the teachers’ association both voted on Dec. 3 to accept the report.
“Overall, they’re happy,” said Dr. William Clark, superintendent, of the board’s unanimous vote. “I think they’re satisfied with the outcome.”
The district and the teachers will meet shortly to iron out a few details, such as how to calculate pay for the remainder of this school year now that the contract has been settled.
The district had proposed a three-year contract, while the teachers sought a five year pact. The fact finder split the difference, recommending a four-year agreement.
Highlights of the contract include salary hikes, but no increase in the percentage of health care contributions, and an annual $1,500 stipend to any teacher who achieves National Board Certification.
Under the contract which expired on June 30, starting salary for a new teacher was $37,698, the top step for a teacher with a master’s degree was $57,998, and a teacher with a master’s degree and 45 additional credits would receive $64,958.
The new agreement pegs the starting rate at $38,804, rising to $42,251 in the final year of the pact. The master’s rate rises to $59,184 now, and to $62,871 at the end of the contract. The master’s plus 45 credits rate increases to $66,143, finishing at $69,830.
The average salary for the 196-member faculty in the district will increase from $52,351 today to $64,452 at the end of the contract. The current 17-step salary schedule remains in place. A teacher starting at the bottom of the schedule would work 17 years to reach the top level.
Both sides agreed to drop a proposal by the teachers for an additional salary step for teachers with a master’s degree and 65 additional credits.
In its original proposal, the district asked that any salary increase over three percent also include a concession on health care costs. The education association opposed that proposal, pointing out that neither party had raised the issue during bargaining, and the mediator agreed. The teachers currently pay $50 or eight percent of their salary toward their health insurance.
The agreement also provides that the district will pay 90 percent of the cost for teachers who seek National Board Certification. Candidates who do not complete the program must reimburse the district for those costs. Those who receives the certification will receive a $1,500 annual stipend as long as they maintain their certification.
