PAYNESVILLE -- The Paynesville Area School Board approved two labor contracts Tuesday at its meeting.
The teachers approved a two-year contract earlier in the week. The contract calls for an 8.25 percent increase in wages and benefits. There will be a 3.75 percent increase in the 2005-06 school year and a 4.5 percent increase in the 2006-07 school year.
The school district will increase its annual contribution to teachers' health insurance from $4,700 to $4,800, Superintendent Todd Burlingame said.
Also in the contract, a "sick leave bank" will be started where teachers can donate two of their sick days. Teachers who need more than their allotted sick days can then use the bank until their long-term disability coverage kicks in, Burlingame said. The program is voluntary.
The new contract also gives teachers the option to use sick leave to take time off after adopting a child.
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The contract also includes a new procedure to fill extra-curricular activity adviser and coaching positions if one cannot be filled by looking within and outside the district staff. The teachers and superintendent will each select three people to form a committee, which then would assign someone to an open position.
The contract also allows sixth- through eighth-grade teachers to receive extra pay for teaching an extra class just as ninth- through 12th-grade teachers do.
A custodial contract was also approved Tuesday which calls for an 8.24 percent increase over two years. The custodians will have a wage and benefit increase of 4.7 percent in the 2005-06 school year and a 3.54 percent increase in the 2006-07 school year.
The contract gives custodians an early retirement option, puts a $150 cap on the amount the district will pay for uniforms and gives them the option to participate in district annuity programs without a school district match.
