School District Pay Raises Approved

Teachers in the city’s school district will receive raises averaging $3,000 a year and other employees will receive about $820 more a year under a plan approved by the Board of Education on Thursday.

The instructors’ raises, which are retroactive to July 1, come as part of a one-year contract with the Westminster Teachers Assn. “Classified” staff members, such as custodians and bus divers, are entering the final year of a three-year contract, which was adjusted this week to reflect the pay increase.

A 6% increase for teachers means the average salary will be $47,900, about a $3,000 increase above last year. The district will employ about 470 teachers and 523 classified staff member next year, officials said.

George Acton, the district’s finance director, said the raises were possible because of an influx of state funds.

“Part of it, about 3.4%, is a cost-of-living increase that we get every year,” Acton said. The remainder, he said, is from state “equalization aid.”

“We’ve been a low-wealth district for many years, which means that we get less from the state than some other school districts,” Acton said. “But now the state is trying to equalize that, so for the past couple years we’ve been getting some extra funds.”

The total cost increase next year for teachers’ salaries is about $1.2 million, and for staff members it is $360,000, Acton said.