Teachers union, school district reach contract agreement

4-year pact provides average hike of 2.5 percent

BIRDSBORO >> The teachers union and Daniel Boone School Board reached a four-year contract deal Monday that will provide an average salary hike of 2.5 percent and add $1.77 million to the payroll.

“We feel as though this collective bargaining agreement balances the economic needs and concerns of the district’s valued professional staff while keeping the financial obligations of educating the community’s most valuable asset, our children and the interests of our taxpayers in mind,” School Board President Jeffrey Scott said in a prepared statement issued by the district.

While costs of operations for school districts continue to rise, including continued pension obligations, healthcare, and special education, the board of school directors and the Daniel Boone Education Association bargaining teams were able to modify the current salary grid to one that results in more leveled incremental costs from year-to-year of this agreement, according to the statement.

“The average annual salary increase over the life of this collective bargaining agreement is 2.49 percent, equating to a total four-year salary cost of $1.77 million for the length of the agreement,” according to the release.

“Additionally, there have been a total of three working days added to the collective bargaining agreement over the course of the four years, with professional staff currently working 187 days and by the fourth year of this agreement working 190 days,” according to the district.