Teachers contract ratified by union

After working under an old one since the beginning of the school year, the Coeur d’Alene teachers union ratified a new contract Thursday night.

The contract still must be ratified by the school board, which will consider the matter today.

Negotiations had been ongoing for months between the Coeur d’Alene Education Association and the school district, and a mediator eventually was brought in to help reach a settlement.

Salaries were the main issue of contention. The district had offered a 2 percent pay increase and the union had asked for 4 percent.

In the end, the teachers got just over 3 percent.

Under the 2004-2005 contract – the one under which teachers have been working – the salary for a starting teacher with a bachelor’s degree is $27,500, plus benefits.

At the other end of the salary scale, a teacher with 15 years’ experience and a doctorate degree earned $53,135.

Negotiators reached a tentative agreement on Nov. 22.

The contract affects 460 teachers and other certified employees, such as counselors.

“As a team, we were happy for the support,” said Kristi Nivette, the union president and one of the negotiators.

Despite the unfavorable weather conditions, about 300 teachers showed up to the ratification meeting at Coeur d’Alene High School, which lasted about an hour and a half.

“I was pleased,” Tim Sandford, band and orchestra teacher at Lake City High School, said after the meeting.

“I thought it was fair.”

After the many hours both teams put into the contract negotiations, Superintendent Harry Amend said was also pleased to hear the news.

The contract details will be officially released once the school district has ratified it.