Glastonbury Teachers, Board of Education Reach Contract Agreement

The town’s teachers and the Board of Education came to a consensus regarding a new four-year agreement that will call for raises each year of the new contract.

The Glastonbury Education Association unanimously endorsed the new contract last week, which calls for a 2.4 percent increase during the 2013-14 school year; a 2 percent increase in 2014-15; and a 2.2 percent increase in 2015/16 and 2016/17, school board officials said.

Under the new contract, teachers will have seven additional hours of professional development during non-school time. Elementary school teachers will also gain an additional 30 minutes of planning time per week, up to 225 minutes from the previous contract’s 195 minutes per week.

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The contract also calls for an increased premium share of health insurance of 5 percent each year to a total of 20 percent in the fourth year of the contract. The contract also calls for increased co-payments for doctors’ visits and prescription drugs.

The contract agreement precludes the need for binding arbitration between the association and the school board. They have not had to enter arbitration over a contract since the 1990s, school officials said.