New Contract Raises Teacher Salaries In Darien

DARIEN, CT — The Darien Board of Education last week unanimously approved a new contract for teachers that raises salaries and will cost the district about $6 million over the duration of the three-year deal.

The new contract will run from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2026. Salaries in Darien Public Schools are based off experience and education level. Increases across all levels of experience were done through equal dollar distribution.

Salaries will increase $1,500 for steps five through 19, and $2,600 for step 20. There is a greater increase in steps five through 10.

The new contract reduces the total number of steps to 16, which in turn increases starting pay for younger teachers.

Overall, the new contract amounts to a 13.68 percent settlement, or a cumulative $6,361,006 over the course of three years.

Under the new contract, Darien will now have the highest minimum salary in its District Reference Group, and the fifth-highest in Fairfield County.

The Darien Times reported that a teacher would have a minimum salary of $51,646, which would increase to $54,646 in the third year. The current base salary for this school year is $48,115.

Additionally, premium cost sharing will increase from 21 percent to 23 percent over the life of the contract.

All personal days will be "no reason days," paid maternity leave will be extended by five days and stipends will increase by 2.5 percent each year.

Darien Board of Education Chair David Dineen said he believed the contract did a good job of achieving shared goals between the board and the Darien Education Association.

"I think we came to the right conclusion, in terms of continuing to support our teachers, pay our teachers, provide the right benefits and also continue to be able to recruit people to the district and also to retain our teachers," he said.

DEA President Barry Palmer agreed.

"It was frustrating at times, I think," Palmer said of the negotiations. "But both sides always had what's best for the district and what's best for students as our first intention. I think this contract will really help us retain the teachers we have and recruit very well."

The DEA and the board of education began negotiations this fall in a time of great uncertainty. School districts are transitioning out of the COVID-19 pandemic, but are also faced with economic challenges and teacher shortages.

This year, Darien Public Schools lost more than 70 certified teachers in part due to retirements, teachers leaving the district or leaving the profession altogether.

Dineen said there were four negotiating sessions before heading to mediation. He said usually mediation is conducted through lawyers, but this time was different.

"We took a different approach and kicked it all off in the same room to kind of re-emphasize we're here to negotiate and come to the right contract agreement for our teachers. That really kind of helped the process," Dineen said.

Dineen said the board will now work with the Darien Board of Finance and the Darien Representative Town Meeting to ratify the new contract.