Addison District 4 school board inks three-year teachers contract

The Addison Elementary District 4 school board has approved a new contract with teachers that will increase base salaries by about a combined 14 percent over three years.

The two sides signed off on the contract this week after a sometimes divisive eight months spent at the bargaining table. Negotiators found common ground on teacher pay and health benefits in a tentative agreement reached before the Thanksgiving holiday.

The three-year pact provides teacher pay raises of 5 percent in the first year and 4.5 percent in each of the next two years.

First-year teachers who have a bachelor's degree currently make $41,605. That salary will increase to $42,645 in the first year of the contract, $43,711 in the second and $44,803 in the third.

Teachers who earn their master's degree will receive an additional $2,250. The district also will give teachers $1,250 for every 15 semester hours they complete of approved graduate coursework. The district will award the so-called educational advancement increase up to 30 semester hours past a master's degree.

Addison Teachers Association co-President Bob Wojtas did not respond to a request Thursday about how many teachers voted to ratify the agreement this week. The union represents 307 full- and part-time members.

"This has been a process that required a great deal of work on everybody's part," Wojtas said in a statement. "The ultimate goal of the ATA was to support our students of Addison, keep a strong educational staff while staying within the district's revenue streams. We believe this agreement supports these objectives."

The bargaining teams for the union and school board began talks in early March. The two sides met 11 times before the school board asked in August that negotiators make a joint request for a federal mediator.

After several mediation sessions, the school board declared an impasse and filed notice with the state labor board Oct. 27. The filing required the union and school to release "final" contract offers that showed divisions over proposed teacher pay.

The union previously sought 2 percent annual baseline salary increases over the next three years in addition to "longevity" increases that would boost the total raises for teachers with five to 24 years experience to roughly 6.5 percent in the first year and 6 percent in each of the next two.

Under the school board's contract proposal released last month, the district would provide raises for all teachers totaling 4 percent in the first year and 3.5 percent in each of the next two years.

Jim Towns chaired the negotiating team that represented fellow school board members in the district that enrolls about 4,180 children.

"There is a challenge in trying to meet the varied needs of licensed professionals - which include not only classroom teachers, but also school nurses, resource teachers, social workers - while remaining fiscally responsible when revenue sources and ongoing costs, such as insurance, are unpredictable," Towns said in a statement. "But we are very pleased to have reached this agreement."