Rockport teachers agree to 2-year contract with 1.25% raise

ROCKPORT — After months of negotiations, the Rockport School District and its teachers' union have agreed to a new labor deal that does not include teacher raises next year beyond automatic step increases, but will raise teacher salaries by a overall 1.25 percent by the end of August 2012.

The two-year contract, ratified by the School Committee late Wednesday night, puts in place a 1 percent raise for the first half of the 2011-2012 school year, and will add to that a .5 percent hike for the remainder of fiscal year 2012, bringing an overall 1.25 percent increase.

While eligible teachers next year will receive their contractual step and track increases based on education and experience, the contract also includes a retirement buyout clause aimed at giving the district more flexibility with teacher salaries.

The deal also provides a 2 percent increase for teachers holding a master's degree that earn an additional 75 credits. Previously, there had only been incentives for master's plus 60 credits.

"It's a contract that really, really works," said Engel, adding it could save the town up to $200,000 a year. "It's great for the town."

Teachers with at least 20 years of experience in Massachusetts and 10 years of service in the Rockport School District would be eligible to take advantage of the $15,000 buyout offer, School Committee Chairman Carl Engel said.

Engel said that, if a number of the more experienced — and therefore higher-paid — teachers opt to accept the buyout, it gives school administrators the ability to hire new teachers in a fiscally responsible manner.

For example, if a teacher making between $69,000 and $74,000 a year accepts the buyout and retires, he or she would get a $15,000 bonus, which saves the district from paying the full salary for years to come. Additionally, the district could then hire a new teacher at roughly half the cost.

"We want to incentivize the teachers at the top of the totem pole, which has become very crowded," Engel said. "We ought to come out with a lot more flexibility and control of our labor budget, that's the goal. The administrators can replace (the veterans) with young, talented teachers that can come into our mentor program and stay in our system."

A recent community poll focused on school issues revealed that a majority of the public wanted to see the "School Committee find a creative way to refreshen the labor department," Engel added.

Finance Committee Chairman Frank Hassler complimented school leadership Thursday saying they did a "commendable job in negotiating a firm and, for the town, a fairly attractive two-year contract."

Hassler said the early retirement offer could be quite beneficial if a significant number of the eligible teachers took advantage of the incentive. Even though the town would have to hire employees to replace the retiring teachers, the savings in labor costs would outweigh the increases in health care benefits, he said.

Hassler also said the raises are "very reasonable" and "very much in line with what the rest of the town employees have been getting the last year or two."

The town agreed to pay 1 percent salary increases to the police and AFSCME unions as well as to its nonunion personnel while the police, public works and library employees agreed to kick in higher health insurance co-pays as part of their new, one-year collective bargaining agreements last September.

"It's potentially a precedent for contracts two or three years down the road," Hassler said. "It's in line with what the town can afford and that's a good thing."

Rockport Teachers Association co-president Jodi Goodhue said an "unbelievable, overwhelming majority" of its membership voted in support of the new contract and that a few of the district's veteran teachers are likely to take advantage of the buyout.

Superintendent Dr. Susan King said teachers will have until the end of May to sign an irrevocable letter of intent to retire at the end of the current school year. Teachers wishing to retire at the end of the 2010-2011 school year will have until Feb. 1, 2011, to notify the district while those wishing to retire at the end of the 2011-2012 school year have a Feb. 1, 2012 deadline.

Engel said there are currently 27 teachers eligible for the salary incentive for those earning 75 credits in addition to their master's but that several of those eligible teachers may opt for the buyout.

"Two percent is a minimal increase given the history but it's still an increase and does give people the ability to earn back the money it cost them to get the credits," Goodhue said. "I think a lot of people think that we get guaranteed raises (through step and track) every year regardless, but half our membership (52 percent) can't make a move in any direction anymore so 0 percent means nothing more for a large percentage of our membership."

Rockport has a 10-step system, but teachers in Rockport are hired at a step 2 level meaning they can only earn additional money based solely on experience for nine years, Engel said. Beyond those nine years, however, teachers are eligible for longevity raises ranging from $500 a year for 10 to 14 years of service in Rockport to an additional $3,500 annually for those with 25 years or more in the district.

Those increases remained unchanged in the new contract, officials said.

School officials, who are asking for a $536,836 override this year, are hopeful the contract will help boosts their efforts to get the override passed at the ballot box on Tuesday.

"Everybody's really pitching in to try and do everything we can to get people excited to pass the override," King said.

Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at 978-283-7000 x 3451 or jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.

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