AUGUSTA — A proposed new two-year contract with teachers, which officials said could help make Augusta more competitive in pay with other school districts, is up for school board approval Wednesday.
The contract negotiated between the union local representing teachers, the Augusta Education Association, and the school district would cover the current school year and the 2018-2019 school year, according to Jan Murphy, president of the union local and a speech teacher at Hussey Elementary School. She said the previous contract expired last August so teachers have been working without a contract this year.
The contract includes pay raises, of varying percentages, for teachers at all “steps.” Salary steps within a contract generally reflect different, escalating levels of pay, based upon work experience and education. Murphy said some steps received larger pay increases than others, as part of an overall effort in negotiations to try to move Augusta to be more competitive with other local school districts in what it pays teachers.
“The union did a comparison with other local districts on salary and benefits and found that Augusta ranked very low on many steps,” Murphy said Tuesday.
“Teachers could take a job in a neighboring district and receive a much higher salary. The board and administration understood this to be a problem and worked diligently to bring the salaries up. While there is an increase in salaries, there is still more work to be done so Augusta is competitive. The (union local) appreciates the work with the board in taking steps to be a little more competitive.”
School officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday on the pending contract vote.
City officials made similar efforts this year to raise some employees’ pay with a goal of becoming more competitive with other municipalities in pay.
Teachers ratified the contract April 11 with 98 percent voting in favor of the new deal, Murphy said.
The school board is scheduled to vote on the contract proposal at 7 p.m. Wednesday at its meeting in the Capital Area Technical Center cafeteria.
Keith Edwards — 621-5647
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