Teacher contract approved

Faced with uncertainty over school funding and the health of the economy, Jay Schools and the Jay Classroom Teachers Association have reached agreement on a two-year contract for 2011.
“I think we struck a really good agreement in terms of protecting the corporation and the community,” superintendent Tim Long said Wednesday. Teachers’ contracts have usually been for three-year terms in the past.
The Jay School Board unanimously approved the contract at a special meeting Wednesday morning.
The JCTA had previously approved the contract.
The deal, which covers the 2011-12 and 2012-13 school years, provides no percentage increase in the base salary scale, but allows an increment raise for years of experience.
Teachers with more than 20 years of experience who are not eligible to receive an increase for experience will receive a $600 stipend.
The contract provides for a 1 percent raise in the salary scale the second year in addition to the increment raises.
In addition, as the corporation continues to find ways to reduce costs and trim positions, the contract calls for a one-time retirement incentive of $15,000 for the first 30 teachers who submit their retirement notices by April 1, 2011.
Those opting for early retirement must have at least six years of experience with Jay Schools and must meet the teachers’ retirement fund “rule of 85.”
That means age plus years of experience must total at least 85.
The contract stipulates that new teachers hired after July 1, 2011 will have more limited choices in terms of health insurance. It also makes direct deposit of payroll mandatory by Sept. 30, 2011.
Extracurricular pay rates were kept the same for 2011-2012 and increased 1 percent in 2012-2013. Some stipends for extracurricular roles were deleted.
Contract language also now reflects policies on job sharing and three-hour delays to the school day.
“We had a really good negotiating process,” said Long. “It was really good over all.”[[In-content Ad]]