By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
A new four-year teacher contract in Princeton calls for annual salary raises of around 2.6 percent and mandates employees pay a health-care deductible for the first time.
The deal, retroactive to last July, ended a stalemate that dragged on for 12 months. Salary and health-care contributions were the two sticking points in negotiations between the school board and the roughly 370-member Princeton Regional Education Association.
Other details of the agreement include eliminating longevity pay for teachers starting in the fourth year of the contract, 2017. The salary guide will go from 15 steps to 18 steps.
“This is a long-term cost saving change that was important to the board, as it provides greater budgetary certainty and sustainability for our district beyond the term of the new agreement,” school board president Andrea Spalla said in a statement. She could not be reached for comment.
For the first time, teachers will pay a health-care deductible at a rate of $100 for faculty with single coverage and $200 for those with family coverage. The rates are higher if they go out of network.
Union president Joanne Ryan could not be reached for comment.
Teachers will continue to pay a portion of their health benefit premiums at the high tier four levels, but starting with this year, they will get an annual stipend to help defray those costs. The stipend will not be counted toward their pension.
Teachers in grades k-8 also will have to attend two evening parent-teacher conferences, on top of the eight they normally have to attend during daytime hours. The district also will add another professional development day that all teachers have to attend.
