Board, teachers agree on contract

By Jon Echternacht

The Hudson Board of Education approved an agreement with the teachers' and custodians' unions for a contract to cover salaries for the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 school years at its regular monthly meeting Monday night at E.P. Rock Elementary School.

"The teachers and custodians are happy with the agreement and we are happy with the agreement," said board president Jerome McAllister.

"This means we will have a friendly relationship with the unions for the next two years," said board member Clarence "Buck" Malick.

The proposal to accept the agreement passed on a 6-0 vote, with board member Steven Keller absent.

The new contract with the West Central Education Association means a beginning teacher in the Hudson district with a bachelor's degree receives $25,913 in salary. At the top of the scale, a teacher with a master's degree and 44 credits would have a base pay of $52,492.

Arnold Fett, director of fiscal operations for the district, said that the beginning amount includes some $12,544 in benefits for a total package of $38,457. The top scale includes some $17,318 in benefits for a total amount of $69,810, he said.

"The contract represents a 3.8 percent increase which is in accordance with state statutes," Fett said. He also said that the second year of the contract would eliminate the first step and include a beginning salary of $26,698. "We have to improve the beginning salaries to attract teachers to the district," he said.

Fett said the contract with the General Teamsters Union representing the custodial staff included a similar raise. "We had to increase the bottom salary for the same reasons," he said. "It is hard to attract employees without a competitive wage," he noted.

The beginning salary for custodians increased from $8 an hour last year to $8.92 for the current year. The contract with the custodial staff also includes benefits such as health and dental insurance, Fett said.