SAHS teachers agree to contract (11/21/06)

BERNE - It's over.

After four years of negotiations, South Adams Schools and the South Adams Classroom Teachers Association have agreed to a contract.

"It's taken a long time to get here," school board member Tony Mellencamp said Monday.

Superintendent Cathy Egolf, who had made resolving the long-standing contract dispute her top priority after being hired this year, had praise for everyone involved.

"This has been the best experience in bargaining that I have ever, ever had," Egolf said.

SACTA members ratified the contract 46-1 when all votes, including proxies, were tallied.

The South Adams School Board immediately followed suit, approving the contract unanimously.

Egolf launched a new approach to negotiations earlier this year, asking for sessions without the participation of outside legal counsel for either the board or the teachers' union. As a draft of a potential agreement took shape, it was reviewed by independent counsel.

The new contract calls for a 9.78 percent increase in teacher pay from the 2002 level, the equivalent of 1.73 percent per year. Beginning with the next school year, the rate will be increased an additional one percent.

The pay scale was also changed to reflect the fact that Indiana no longer requires a master's degree.

In addition, the contract resolves the school corporation's unfunded liability for accumulated sick days by creating a new retirement plan for existing teachers. It also establishes a new, separate retirement account for new teachers.

Under the contract, teachers will pay fixed rates on health insurance, with a broader variety of plans offered at a wide range of costs to teachers, school officials said.

As part of the settlement, both the school corporation and the teachers' union have agreed to drop their complaints of unfair labor practices.

"South Adams worked collaboratively," said Egolf. "You are phenomenal," she told teachers, "and so is the board."[[In-content Ad]]