STONEHAM — The Stoneham School Committee wishes to announce that it has reached a three-year contract agreement for teachers with the Stoneham Teachers Association.
The agreement took effect July 1, 2022 and will last through the conclusion of the 2024-2025 school year.
As part of the contract, the teacher salary schedule will increase by 7% over three year period – 3% for the 2022-2023 school year, 2% in the 2023-2024 school year and 2% in the 2024-2025 school year. Along with the salary enhancements from previous years, this represents a total increase of 13.5% since 2015.
“I am thankful for the spirit of cooperation and respect that led to this agreement,” Superintendent John Macero said. “We believe that this contract accomplishes the goals of all parties involved, including salary enhancements, which will continue to help the district attract and retain talented educators. In all, this agreement supports our shared mission of providing the highest quality of education to our students.”
The agreement also includes:
- A new longevity payment of $600 when educators reach 10 years of experience in the education field. Previously, longevity payments only applied to 5, 15, 20 and 25 years of experience.
- Educators will be eligible to receive up to $1,000 toward pre-approved course reimbursement per school year, up from $900. Reimbursement is capped at a yearly cumulative total of $70,000 for the entire Teachers Association.
- Teachers at step 12 Master to step 12 Doctorate will receive a $500 increase in their salary schedule in the second year of the contract agreement.
- Paternity leave may be used for up to eight consecutive school weeks within six months of the birth of the child. Previously, educators could use the eight weeks non-consecutively and leave was based on calendar weeks, not school weeks.
- Teachers with Professional Status may access a maximum of 272 banked sick days over a five-year period. Teachers who reach the 272-day maximum allowance and return to active duty must be on active duty for at least one consecutive year before becoming eligible to reapply to the sick leave bank. The previous contract specified a maximum allowance of 330 sick bank days, with no restrictions on how often it could be used.
- An updated holiday schedule, which now includes Juneteenth.
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