Schools

Merrick teachers, board agree on 3-year contract

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The Merrick Board of Education and the district’s teachers have agreed to terms of a renewed contract. The three-year pact will take effect for the 2012-13 school year and end after the 2014-2015 school year.

The contract calls for a salary increase of 1.5 percent for each of the three years. During the 2013-14 school year, 1 percent of the increase will take effect at the start of the school year, while the remaining .5 percent will become effective in February 2014. “The contract balances the need for fiscal restraint with the recognition of the importance and quality of our faculty,” said Superintendent Dr. Dominick Palma.

A first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree starts at $57,258, and teachers with 23 years of experience and a master’s degree earn $122,994.

“The Merrick Faculty Association is pleased that we reached a contract agreement with the Merrick Union Free School District,” said Ruth Rosenberg, a Levy-Lakeside fifth-grade teacher and president of the Merrick Faculty Association. “We look forward to continuing to serve the children of Merrick.”

Among the teachers’ givebacks in the contract is the removal of salary step increases during the first year of the contract. Steps are additional salary increases based on years of experience.

Faculty members will also increase their health insurance contribution to 20 percent during the 2013-14 school year, up from 19 percent under the previous contract. Additional provisions of the contract call for a reduction in the frequency of after-school faculty meetings, with three of them being longer to make up the time.

“The Merrick Board of Education is gratified that we were able to come to an agreement with our teachers,” said Board of Education President Gina Piskin. “We are pleased to begin the new school year focusing on the best education possible for the children of Merrick.”