The Seneca Valley School District and its teachers union, the Seneca Valley Education Association, will soon be operating under a new 5-year contract.
The two entities agreed on the terms earlier this week.
The contract includes a consumer-driven health care package with significantly higher deductibles, higher co-pays and plan changes for the employee with no additional contributions from the District, according to a release. The agreement also includes a step movement raise of approximately 1.25 percent and a salary raise of approximately 3.25 percent. Step movement is an automatic increase based on years of service. It is also important to note the teachers agreed to add additional work days for the purposes of increased student instruction and mandated state trainings, officials say.
According to school officials, the new plan will have an annual savings to the district of $750,000 and a total of nearly $4 million over the life of the contract.
The current teacher contract is set to expire on June 30, 2016.
School Board President Eric DiTullio was complimentary of the working relationship between the two sides and said the agreement is a fair one that will help the district to address escalating health care costs and future bargaining costs.
“Prolonged bargaining is costly and can create an environment of divisiveness,” he said. “We’ve met regularly over the past six months to prevent the possibility of labor strife as seen in neighboring Districts and across the state. We’re pleased that both sides have taken the initiative to work together and come to an early agreement.”
Seneca Valley is home to 7,156 students in grades K-12. There are 540 SVEA members in part-time and full-time teaching positions.
The post New Contract For SV Teachers appeared first on Inside Butler County – Butler, PA.
