Sullivan County School Board OKs Teachers Contract
By JAMES LOEWENSTEIN; JAMES LOEWENSTEIN (Staff Writer) | |
Proquest LLC |
The contract, which was ratified by the teachers on
During the first year of the contract, the school district will spend an additional 2.5 percent on salaries, with the extra money being distributed as raises for the teachers, said
Spending on salaries will increase 2.25 percent during each of the last three years of the contract, with the additional spending also being distributed as raises for the teachers, he said.
However, the increased spending on salaries is offset to an extent by the fact that teachers will have to pay more for their health insurance, he said.
During the past school year, teachers paid a portion of their health insurance premiums that was equivalent to 1.5 percent of their salaries, he said.
During the first year of the new contract, their contribution to their health insurance premiums will increase to 2 percent of their salary, he said. The contribution toward their health insurance premiums will continue to rise over the life of the contract until, during the final year, it will be 3.5 percent of their salary, Lindner said.
The contribution that a teacher makes toward his or her health insurance premiums does not depend on whether he or she has family members who receive health insurance through the school district, he said.
The district's previous contract, which was in effect for three years, ended on
Following the school board's vote on Tuesday, the new contract went into effect, Lindner said.
Superintendent of schools
Voting for the contract were
Voting against the contract were Tim Nitczinski and
In an interview after the meeting, Nitczinski said teachers in the
Nitczinski noted that the
"A lot of our taxpayers live on a limited income," Nitczinski said, adding that they have to pay the higher taxes that the salary increases are causing.
Nitczinski noted that there was a tax increase implemented this summer to address a shortfall in the
Nitczinski also said that several other school districts in the area have implemented freezes in teachers' salaries in the past. By contrast, the
Miller declined to provide a comment to The Review on her vote.
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