The contract had already been unanimously approved by teachers.
By Emily Tuttle
Special to the Sun Journal

MECHANIC FALLS – Teachers received pay raises and the town held the line on health coverage costs, under a 3-year contract approved by the Mechanic Falls School Committee Tuesday night.

Committee members voted 4-0, with one member absent, on the contract already unanimously approved by teachers last week. The terms cover the years 2002 through 2005, with most conditions retroactive for the past two years that teachers have been working without a contract.

“The town never objected to the raises that the teachers deserve,” said committee member David Griffiths. “But residents made it clear that they wanted teachers to pay a bigger share of the health insurance, just like many of them have to do in the private sector.”

When the School Committee last met on Dec. 12, about 35 teachers and parents attended to object to the stalemate. The teachers’ union and School Committee expected at that time to enter into a state-officiated, legal process of fact-finding. The two sides had already failed several times to reach agreement through mediation.

However, both sides returned to the table for direct talks last week, just a day before the scheduled fact-finding. After two days of working through the terms of the contract, both sides left confident of approval.

In addition, both sides signed an agreement Tuesday to form a joint committee to study salaries and benefits throughout the state for communities similar to Mechanic Falls.

The contract allows each currently employed teacher to receive a 4 percent pay increase for each of the first two years of the contract. For the year 2004-2005, the committee increased the salary for each teaching level by 4 percent. That means a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree will make $23,942 instead of the previous $23,021. The top of the salary scale increased from $37,047 to $38,529 for the 2004-2005 year for teachers with 19 years experience and a master’s degree.

In addition to the changes in salary, retiring teachers will receive pay for 25 unused sick days instead of the previous 20. Teachers had originally asked for 30. Pay for extracurricular activities generally increased by $50 for the last year of the contract.

However, the committee lowered its share for health insurance. Previously, taxpayers shouldered 90 percent of the costs for both a standard plan with more options and for an HMO type plan. The committee had wanted to drop the standard plan completely but compromised by having teachers pay 5 percent more of the premium for 2004-2005. Teachers also will pay 2 percent more for the managed health plan. Assistant Superintendent Bill Doughty said Tuesday that he expected overall costs from insurance companies to increase by 14 percent this year.

Dental insurance coverage and life insurance options remained unchanged from the previous contract, said committee member Terry Arsenault. Teachers receive full payment for the National Educator’s Association Life Insurance, and $158 per year toward Northeast Delta Dental Plan.

Other terms of the contract included two paid personal days and 20 sick leave days. Teachers are allowed to accumulate 120 sick leave days. Teachers also are eligible for reimbursement for graduate level courses up to $1,300 per school year.

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