SHARON SCHOOLS District and teachers pass four-year contract

The board also finalized a four-year contract for its new superintendent.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- Teachers in Sharon City School District will get average annual wage increases of $1,739 in a four-year contract approved Monday by the 185-member Sharon Teachers Association and the school board. It is retroactive to July 1.
The settlement was recommended by a state-appointed fact-finder and is based on average increases awarded in Mercer County districts, the two sides said.
Life insurance coverage was raised from $35,000 to $40,000, and the district is adding a one-time payment of $1,000 for any teacher who earns a master's degree during the life of the agreement.
The contract also calls for a "voluntary sick-leave bank," which will provide a bank of available sick days to employees with major illnesses who have exhausted their individual sick leave.
Donated days
Sharon teachers have been allowed to donate their unused sick days to other teachers in the district who needed them, but the program will now be official.
Teachers can donate one day per year to the bank. Those who need extra days can draw at least 40 from the bank.
The first year of the contract sets the starting salary at $32,295, while the maximum teacher salary is at $59,897. The average teacher salary in the first year of the contract is $46,627.
The contract will cost the district an additional $250,000 in the first year.
Superintendent's contract
The board also approved a four-year contract for Superintendent Donna DeBonis, who took over July 1.
The pact pays DeBonis $85,000 this year, $90,050 in the second year, $92,701 in the third year and $95,482 in the fourth year.
She is eligible for cash bonuses and merit raises. The board will conduct annual performance evaluations of the superintendent.