SAD 1 board votes to ratify 2-year teacher contract

PRESQUE ISLE – The SAD 1 board of directors voted Wednesday night to ratify a two-year contract with the district teachers association that includes an average salary increase of 3.5 percent over two years, Superintendent Gehrig Johnson said Thursday.

Johnson said that the increase for salary and fringe benefits for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 school years is $686,000, or 4.5 percent, over the current contract. The change will affect the district’s nearly 170 teachers.

“From the board’s perspective, we’re very pleased in the way it went,” Johnson said of the contract negotiations.

Mark White, outgoing SAD 1 Education Association co-president, said Thursday that while collective bargaining involves compromise on both sides, teachers generally were satisfied with the new contract. He said 44 union members attended a meeting in May to considered ratifying the contract and 41 of them voted in favor of it.

“We are happy that the board committed 3.5 percent more to teachers’ salaries,” White said. “Also, our goal going in was to be sure that every single SAD 1 employee and their dependents were covered with insurance and that’s what happened.”

Benefits under the new contract include:

. A 5 percent increase in the amount of money the district pays in health insurance.

. An agreement by the district to pay teacher’s licensing fees, which get renewed every five years. The state recently increased the fees to $100 per license.

. A $5-per-point increase for the 145 stipend positions related to co-curricular activities, such as athletics and clubs. Right now, the district pays $120 per point for the positions. The number of points a position is worth is based on the amount of students, time and responsibility involved.

. An increase in mileage reimbursement from 35 to 40 cents per mile.

“We’re very pleased that we’re able to do this in a cooperative spirit so both the board and the teachers association feel it’s a fair contract,” Johnson said. “We wish we could pay these teachers a lot more than we’re able to because they’re worth it, but this is what we feel we can do and they’ve agreed to it.”

In other news, the board:

. Approved the hire of Barb Bartlett as the assistant principal of Presque Isle Middle School.

. Recognized several employees who announced their retirement during the 2005-2006 school year. They include: Margaret Poirier, Judy Kenney, Brenda Donovan, Norma “Deanie” McKenney, and Melissa Vance.

. Learned that Kevin Malenfant, a fifth-grade teacher at Zippel Elementary School, was named the Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year for Aroostook County. He was nominated by his students and was singled out from among 200 entries for the award.

. Received an MBNA grant update. In the last month, the district secured $19,724 in grants. Johnson said that SAD 1 has received $904,856 since the grant program’s inception in 1997. The district received a letter from MBNA stating that officials will continue to accept grant applications until Oct. 1, but that the program will be discontinued after that time. Johnson said officials across the district are writing as many grants as possible in an effort to reach the $1 million mark before the program ends.

The SAD 1 board of directors will hold its next meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 19, in the board conference room.