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District 207 teachers’ contract approved
Updated: July 22, 2012 6:28AM
Teachers in Maine Township High School District 207 have a new three-year contract.
During a special meeting held today (June 15) the District 207 Board of Education approved on a 5-1 vote an employment contract with the Maine Teachers Association. Board member Ed Mueller cast the only dissenting vote.
The teachers union had approved the agreement June 7.
The contract provides teachers with a pay raise of .66 percent during the first year, which begins Aug. 16, said District 207 spokesman David Beery. For the second year of the contract teachers will receive a 1-percent cost-of-living raise and in Year 3 their pay raise will be tied to the Consumer Price Index, with a minimum of one-half percent to a maximum of 2.4 percent.
The contract also establishes a new, 25-step schedule. The schedule previously contained 20 steps with pay increases provided to teachers for each step reached in their career. Beery said the 25-step schedule is significant because it has resulted in a decrease in pay raises related to each step advancement.
The contract also has “some important cost-containment measures on insurance costs,” according to the district.
“This contract is fair to the taxpayers of the district as well as to our teachers and teacher assistants,” said Superintendent Ken Wallace in a statement released by District 207. “It protects the long-term solvency of the district by helping to contain costs in traditionally high-cost areas.”
In the district’s statement Maine Teachers Association President Mike Poehler said the union recognizes “the current economic climate and financial realities of the families of our students and community. We’ve worked diligently along with the board team to maintain programs that attract and retain quality education professionals to District 207 while making concessions that allow the district to maintain financial strength and stability.”
A copy of the actual contract was not immediately available.
