New Contract Gives Teachers 2.73% Raise

After nearly a year of negotiations, the Westminster School District’s trustees this week approved a contract with its teachers union for the current school year.

The pact reached Thursday will give teachers a 2.73% salary increase and a special early retirement incentive. For the typical teacher earning about $46,000 a year, the agreement will mean a raise of $1,300.

Negotiations had been underway since last spring, when a previous three-year contract expired. The teachers had been without a contract since then, officials said.

The talks, which at one point were joined by a mediator, were described by some participants as tense at times.

The discussions were stalled in part because district officials wanted to increase the time that students spend in the classroom by a few minutes a day. Teachers objected, saying that would unfairly cut into their class preparation time, teachers union President Carolyn Anderson said.

School board President Nancy L. Blumenthal said the panel was “pleased that an agreement could be reached.”

Now negotiators will begin work on next year’s contract.