Teachers Get 2% Raise Under New Contract

From the AACPS Communications Office:

Teachers and school counselors have received a 2 percent raise under a new, one-year contract approved Wednesday night by the Board of Education of Anne Arundel County.

The agreement with the Teachers Association of Anne Arundel County outlines compensation and working conditions for teachers, school counselors, and other bargaining unit members across the school system.

The agreement, which expires on June 30, 2016, was approved by TAAAC earlier this month.

“We have said time and time again that our employees are the people who make our school system as good as it is, and this agreement is an important step forward for our teachers and other TAAAC members,” Board President Stacy Korbelak said. “We are glad to have this chapter closed so that we can focus on the future.”

The agreement provides a 2 percent compensation increase for all union members, retroactive to July 1, 2015. It also reduces the work year for TAAAC members by one day, but does not decrease the number of days students are in school.

To help pay for the increase, the agreement eliminates about $3.3 million in stipends that had been allocated to teachers in schools identified as “challenged.” Stipends have previously been awarded to teachers assigned to such schools, and again when schools met state annual measurable objectives.

In addition, the agreement scales back a reduction in experience credit for newly hired teachers. This year, teachers hired from other school systems had their experience credit reduced by three years. Under the agreement, the experience credit reduction (in years) will be cut to two next year and one the year after.