Nov 6, 2018 2 min read

Jefferson-Morgan School Board voted Monday to approve a new five-year contract with district teachers that includes average annual raises of between 2 and 3 percent.

At a special meeting, the board voted 8-0 to approve a new agreement with Jefferson-Morgan Education Association. Board member Deborah Phillips was absent.

The 63-member association ratified the agreement earlier in the day.

Teachers will receive average raises of about 2 percent in each of the first two years as a result of their “step” movement on the salary schedule, board President Mark Pochron said.

Raises in each of the remaining three years average about 3 percent, he said, noting increases vary for each teacher based on factors including years of service.

Under the new agreement, teachers will share in the costs of health care, which will represent a savings to the district, Pochron said.

Negotiations proceeded in a professional manner, with both sides conscious of the district’s financial condition, Pochron said.

The district has struggled financially during the last few years as state subsidies have stagnated and the district saw a loss in its tax base, partly as a result of the Alpha Natural Resources bankruptcy, Pochron said.

“We’ve tried to plan ahead, and we feel good about the condition of the district right now educationally, but the question is what will happen with state subsidies,” he said.

Negotiations between the two sides had begun in August 2017 and proceeded “without contention,” association President Kevin McCarty said. “Everything was done professionally and above-board.”

McCarty, too, said both parties were mindful of the district’s finances. “We realize the financial situation of the district and the impacts to the taxpayers, and we tried to do the best we could,” he said.

Both sides had begun talks with the hope of reaching an early contract, McCarty said. However, neither side wanted to rush the process. The previous contract expired Aug. 31.

“We worked for two months without a contract, but collaboratively and in good faith with the board with the idea of reaching a fair and equitable settlement,” he said.

Both he and Pochron gave credit to Superintendent Joseph Orr, whom McCarty said was “instrumental” in assisting with the negotiations.

The teachers’ previous contract, approved in May 2015, was a three-year pact that included raises of 1.6 to 3.2 percent a year, based on years of service.