Washington Local teachers getting raise

5/24/2005

Washington Local School District teachers will get a 3.25 percent pay raise beginning in the fall of 2006 - increasing the starting salary to $30,366.

In exchange for the pay increase, teachers will work an additional 15 minutes each day, Superintendent Michael Carmean said.

"We don't know if it's a concession or just a good thing to do for the kids," Mr. Carmean said.

The Washington Local Board of Education unanimously approved the pay increase along with changes to health-care coverage for teachers in a two-year extension of the bargaining unit's contract.

The agreement also creates new pay steps for teachers with a master's degree and 18 1/2 years' experience and another for those identified as specialists who possess 27.5 years' experience.

The top pay a teacher in the school district can earn, not including supplemental work, is now $72,271.

Mr. Carmean said the 7,000-student district is able to increase teacher salaries because it has successfully passed tax levies and saves money as veteran teachers retire.

Thirty-one teachers will retire at the end of this school year, all of whom will be replaced by teachers with less than five years' experience.