The East Aurora School District 131 Board of Education approved a three-year contract that increases salaries for teaching and support staff. The contract could also change the start time for schools as soon as next year.

The contract was approved unanimously by the Board of Education at their regular meeting Monday evening. Last week, the membership of East Aurora Council IFT/AFT Local 604, which includes teachers, support staff and office staff, agreed to send the contract to the Board by a vote of 870 for and 434 against. The full contract is posted here.

The new contract is retroactive to the July 1, 2015. It includes revisions to 54 provisions from the previous contract, as well as multiple subcategories within those 54 provisions.

Among those revisions, are:

• A committee will be formed to study the possibility of staggering the start of elementary, middle, and high school days, so that parents with students at more than one level can more easily drop off students. That change could go into effect as soon as the start of the 2016-17 school year, but no later than the 2017-18 school year.
• Teachers with a bachelor’s degree will receive a 3.5 percent increase in 2015-16, a 3 percent raise in 2016-17, and 2.5 percent increase in 2017-18. Teachers with master’s degrees will receive a 7 percent increase in 2015-16, 2.5 percent raise in 2016-17, and a 2.5 percent increase in the 2017-18 school year. Some staff will also receive additional adjustments based on their years of experience. The increases will make salaries of teachers, particularly those with master’s degrees, more comparable to surrounding districts.
• Office and support staff will receive a 3.5 percent increase in 2015-16, 2.75 percent raise in 2016-17, and 2.5 percent increase in 2017-18. Some office and support staff will also receive a one-time increase for years of service.
• The contract allows for non-classroom East Aurora certified staff members to substitute for absent teachers once per month. This will allow for 30 more classroom days to be covered by highly qualified teachers and decreases the chances a class would be divided up when a teacher is absent. This is part of an effort to address an ongoing national and regional shortage in substitute teachers.

Additionally, although it is not part of the contract, the district has committed to providing training to staff to ensure understanding of the provisions within the contract.

A tentative agreement was reached between negotiating team members from Local 604 and representatives of the district’s negotiating team, who met for an extended time on Tuesday, March 15, to continue negotiations on a contract for the teachers, office staff, and support staff. That tentative agreement was then passed by the Union membership on Wednesday, March 30.

Negotiations on this collective bargaining agreement began in October of 2014.

SOURCE: East Aurora School District 131 news release