Dist. 10 teachers get new deal

Teachers in Itasca Elementary District 10 have a new work agreement stretching through the 2012 school year.

The school board unanimously approved the deal Wednesday night that the 69-member union ratified during a meeting last week.

"I think we came up with a four-year agreement that's fair on both sides," Superintendent Kenneth Cull said.

Education Association of Itasca President Bryen Travis concurred.

He said the discussions were both professional and smooth and gave large credit for that to Cull, who's retiring at the end of the month.

The deal will cost the district an average of 4.9 percent more in salaries for each of the next four years. Starting teachers next school year will make a base salary of $37,632 while the highest-paid educators, those with master's degrees and 30 years of experience, will make $75,264.

In the last year of the agreement, the starting salary will be $40,339 and the top is $80,678.

One of the biggest changes, Travis pointed out, is that the final day of school in upcoming years will include only a half day for students. In years past it's been a full day of classes which has made it difficult for teachers, he said.

Having a half day allows teachers to pack up for the end of the year without necessarily having to return on subsequent days, Travis said.

Additionally, the district eliminated the first two levels of pay on the salary schedule, which were for first- and second-year teachers to make the salaries more competitive with other districts, Cull explained.

For example, the starting salary next year actually would have been the salary for a third-year teacher. Instead, it's what a first-year teacher will make. There were no second-year teachers affected by the change and the adjustment doesn't affect any other teachers.