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Union, schools reach pay deal

The tentative agreement calls for an overall 7 percent pay increase for teachers and higher wages for support workers, too.

By EDDY RAMIREZ
Published July 29, 2006

INVERNESS - The school district and union officials reached a tentative agreement Friday that would bring teacher salaries and support workers' wages to new highs.

The agreement calls for an overall 7 percent pay increase for teachers. Also, the district would pay $32,400 to a new teacher with a bachelor's degree, a $2,100 increase over last year's pay. And the most experienced teachers would receive an additional $2,300, bringing their salaries to $49,877.

Support workers would earn 60 cents more per hour, and the most experienced would get a 70-cents-per-hour increase. Last year, support workers shook hands on an agreement that raised their wages by 25 cents more per hour.

The union represents the district's 1,236 teachers and 520 support workers.

"This is the largest increase we have seen in many, many years," said union official Terry Flaherty, a teacher at Inverness Primary School. "I think the employees are going to be very satisfied."

As part of the package, the district would pick up the $10-per-employee increase in health insurance costs, raising its contribution from $180 to $190 each month.

For the second straight year, the school district and union officials reached a tentative agreement on across-the-board raises for teachers and support workers on the first day of negotiations.

"This (overall 7 percent increase for teachers) is the most I can remember the district ever giving," said Steve Richardson, who represented the district in the negotiation talks.

At first, it seemed that the two sides would not reach an agreement Friday.

Negotiations stretched into late afternoon as both sides debated what constituted a fair compensation package.

A team of administrators started the talks by proposing a pay raise package for teachers and support workers totaling $2.6-million without benefits. The offer included paying an additional $2,400 to the most experienced teachers and $1,200 to all other teachers on the salary scale.

But union officials turned down the proposal, calling into question the fairness of the proposed increase for support workers, who asked for an additional paid holiday.

The new agreement must still be ratified by the union and approved by the School Board.

[Last modified July 28, 2006, 22:35:00]