Published Tuesday, December 17, 2002
rises to $32,295
Herald Staff Writer
Teachers in the Sharon City School District have a new contract after nearly a year of working without one.
The 185-member union overwhelmingly approved the contract Monday afternoon, Brenda Pickup, union negotiator, said.
School directors approved the contract in a 7-0 vote Monday night, with Directors Kathy Hall and Dominic Russo abstaining.
The new contract is retroactive to July 1, 2002, and is in effect until June 30, 2006.
The new starting salary goes to $32,295 from $32,155.
The contract also adds two pay steps and increases the highest paid employee to $59,897 from $58,260.
Business Manager James Wolf said longevity pay has not changed from the old contract. Longevity pay is used to compensate teachers who have reached the top of the pay scale and otherwise wouldn't get a raise, Wolf said.
The average teacher's salary in the district is now $46,627, Wolf said. The average yearly increase for the new contract is $1,739.
To encourage the district's young teachers to earn their master's degrees, teachers who attain the degree will get a one-time, $1,000 bonus, Wolf said. He said there are many young teachers, and administrators don't want them to settle for the master's equivalency.
The district and teachers association also agreed to institute a voluntary sick leave bank for the first time, Ms. Pickup said. Any teacher who wants to be a part of the bank will donate one sick day a year, and then if a teacher needs extra sick days for an extended illness, he or she can take days from the bank. In the past, teachers donated days for the use of other teachers, Ms. Pickup said.
Life insurance pay rose to $40,000 from $35,000, Ms. Pickup said.
You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Kristen Garrett at kgarrett@sharonherald.com