Dayton school board approves contract with teachers union

Dayton Education Association teachers protest outside of the Dayton Public Schools administration building downtown on Sept. 20, 2022. Eileen McClory / Staff

Dayton Education Association teachers protest outside of the Dayton Public Schools administration building downtown on Sept. 20, 2022. Eileen McClory / Staff

Dayton Public School Board voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the Dayton Education Association’s new contract. The district’s teachers had been working under an expired contract since June 30.

DEA president Neil Mahoney thanked those who helped to bring the tentative agreement to fruition. He said the negotiation team had been working on the contract since last fall and their efforts culminated in a tentative agreement ratified by 86% of the DEA’s membership on Nov. 1.

“I would also like to thank this board for their support of our members. It has been felt and it is truly appreciated,” Mahoney said.

Will Smith, the president of the Dayton Public School board, echoed Mahoney’s sentiments and thanked the teachers.

“I do want to echo the sentiments of President Mahoney,” Smith said. “I appreciate everybody that worked to get this done. I appreciate the work going forward and all the teachers and staff who work here at DPS.”

One of the highlights of the new contract included increasing the base salary for first-year teachers with a bachelor’s degree to $48,813 from $47,391 under the previous contract. Due to the negotiated teacher’s contract, all employees get a 3% raise.

Mahoney said at a school board meeting in October that staff felt overworked, and he knows teachers who have left the district due to the overwhelming amount of work the teachers currently have.

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