Cda Teachers Agree On Contract, Raise

The city’s public school teachers are leaving their classrooms this week knowing they’ll get a raise come fall.

The Coeur d’Alene Education Association and the Coeur d’Alene School Board ratified a contract last week that raises base pay for teachers by 2.02 percent.

The contract also includes 1.8 percent incremental raises, so the average teacher’s salary will rise 3.82 percent.

The base pay for the 1997-98 school year will be $20,200 for a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree. The current base pay is $19,800. The state budget had allocated a 2 percent increase.

The Coeur d’Alene Education Association is the union that represents about 80 percent of the teachers.

The June agreement represents a change from recent years, when negotiating didn’t begin until mid-summer, said outgoing president Gretta Shay.

“We weren’t sure how we would fare with a new superintendent,” said Shay, referring to the change in school district administration that occurs this summer. “We feel really good that we’ve settled before the school year.” , DataTimes