Whittier

The Whittier City School District Board of Education has ratified a new, two-year contract with teachers granting them a 6.75% salary increase in the first year. Terms of the contract’s second year--salaries, benefits and class size--will be negotiated at a later date, Supt. Neal Avery said.

With the increase, Avery said the district’s minimum salary for teachers has gone from $19,084 to $20,265, while salaries for the highest paid instructors jump from $34,942 to $37,556. The new contract will cost the district about $466,000 more a year, Avery said. Currently, about 265 teachers, nurses and counselors work in the elementary district.

Meanwhile, talks between teachers and officials of the neighboring South Whittier School District have failed to produce a new contract. The South Whittier Teachers Assn. is seeking a 15% pay raise for its members; the district’s best offer so far has been 9%, according to spokesmen on both sides. Teachers in the elementary district have been without a contract since August.