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Dayton Daily News education reporter Scott Elliott writes about schools, kids, teaching and learning.
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Thursday, August 7, 2008
Dayton teachers approve contract, raise
City school district teachers Thursday overwhelmingly approved a new three-year labor contract that includes a 2 percent raise retroactive to July 1.
Teachers got no raise last year and a 1.25 percent raise the prior year as the district struggled with tight finances. Union President Pat Lynch said following the vote at Thurgood Marshall High School that there was strong support for the deal.
Workers will pay the same 15 percent of their health care premiums, but the cost will go up for visits to the emergency room and urgent care. The deal sets the emergency room copay at $100, up from $25, and urgent care at $25, up from $10.
Interim Superintendent Kurt Stanic said recent cuts of about $2.2 million, including the elimination of a half dozen central office jobs, helped free up enough money to make the raise possible for teachers despite the district’s difficult financial position.
“The teachers provide the most important thing that goes on in our school district and that’s instruction,” he said. “We want to protect the integrity of our instructional program.”
Teacher planning periods also will be restored during the school day, rather than before or after school as they were last year. This is made possible by the return of music, art and gym class at elementary schools. When those subjects were curtailed last year and planning periods moved, teachers complained that the long stretches without a break caused more illness and stress.
The union had filed a grievance over the elimination of planning periods, which it said were required by its prior contract to be during the school day.
Under the terms of the new deal, the raise and insurance premiums for the last two years will negotiated next summer and the following summer.
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