New 4-year contract for Itasca teachers
Itasca teachers and the Elementary District 10 school board have finalized a new four-year contract that is retroactive to August and includes average 4.2% annual salary increases, union and school officials said Thursday.
The school board unanimously ratified the agreement Wednesday night and the Education Association of Itasca approved it Oct. 15.
The contract will run to August 2023 in the district that serves 1,001 students at three schools - Benson Primary, Franzen Intermediate and Peacock Middle School.
In a news release Thursday, the two sides said other key factors in the contract include:
• Additional school time for both Franzen and Benson, starting with the 2020-2021 school year, that will total 6 hours and 50 minutes. Daily school time at Peacock will remain at 7 hours.
• Differentiated raises that are based on increasing the length of the day, experience and neighboring district pay analysis that range from 3.25% to 5% a year.
• Discontinuation of weekly Thursday early dismissal to a new model next year that will more closely align with Lake Park High School.
• An increased tuition reimbursement pool for teachers to continue advanced studies.
• A new post-retirement benefit for long-term service to Itasca, with no adverse impact to district pension liability.
The two sides said they reached the agreement with help from a federal mediator.