HADLEY, PA. Teachers, board OK new pact

HADLEY, Pa. -- Teachers in the Commodore Perry School District will get average pay increases of 3.86 percent in each of the next five years.
Both the 50-member teacher union and the school board approved terms of a new contract Monday.
The pact is retroactive to July 1.
Superintendent Oliver Rodax said the average teacher salary in the district last year was $47,279 but the figure will actually be lower this year. Six veteran teachers have retired and six starting teachers have been hired at substantially lower salaries, he said, adding that a new average salary hasn't been determined yet.
Salaries
The starting salary was raised from $30,000 last year to $30,500 this year. It won't follow the average 3.86 percent increase annually, but will rise over the life of the contract to $32,000.
The maximum salary in the district in the first year of the contract will be $52,743. That's for a teacher with a master's degree plus at least 18 additional college credits.
Rodax said Commodore Perry has "several" teachers at that level.
School will start five minutes earlier and end six minutes later each day, Rodax said.
Other changes in the contract include:
UGraduate work incentive will increase from $125 to $150 per credit.
ULife insurance will go from $35,000 to $40,000.
UDental insurance cover will rise from 60 percent to 80 percent of cost for major restorative work and periodontal work.