Andover Extending School Day, Granting Raises In Contract Extension

ANDOVER, MA — School days may be getting a little longer in Andover, and teachers will be seeing a little extra for their time.

The Andover School Committee Negotiation Subcommittee and the Andover Education Association Unit A have agreed to extend their 2014-2017 collective bargaining agreement through August 31, 2020, School Committee Chair Susan McCready announced Wednesday afternoon.

School Committee members will vote on the three-year extension during a July 6 meeting at 7 p.m. in the School Committee room at the School Administration Building, 36R Bartlet St.

Andover Public Schools would extend the school day at all levels by 15 minutes beginning in 2019. That comes out to an extra 75 minutes per week and about 7 1/2 school days per year. (Subscribe to Andover Patch and like us on Facebook for more local news and alerts.)

The teacher salary schedule would also increase by 6.35 percent over the life of the extension – 1.5 percent for the 2017-2018 school year, 2 percent in the 2018-2019 school year and 2.85 percent in the 2019-2020 school year when the student day will be extended.

"This was a thorough and detailed negotiation conducted in full collaboration with, and participation from our town manager," McCready said. "Having Andrew at the table with the School Committee was an asset to reaching this agreement. I am pleased on many levels with the results."

School employees would also increase their contribution to their insurance premiums, resulting in what Town Manager Andrew Flanagan estimates would result in a $4.9 million reduction to the town’s health insurance costs over the next 10 years. School district staff who start on or after July 1, 2017, will pay 30 percent of the premium cost of HMO plans.

"This agreement provides for long-term cost savings for the town, increased educational opportunities for our students and allows the district to continue to attract and retain the highest quality teachers," said Blumstein, who was the chair of the negotiating subcomittee.

The negotiations began in February, and the sides met numerous times since before reaching an agreement.

Subcommittee members included McCready, former School Committee Chair Joel Blumstein and Town Manager Andrew Flanagan. The group was assisted by town and school labor counsel Elizabeth B. Valerio of Deutsch Williams, School Committee members Paul Murphy and Shannon Scully, and Superintendent Sheldon Berman and his staff.

For more information on the contract, visit Andover Public Schools here.