JAY – It’s settled.

The Jay School Committee and the Jay Education Association reached contract agreements for about 100 teachers and education technicians that showed give and take on all sides.

School Committee members approved the contracts with both groups Thursday.

Two agreements were reached with teachers. One was a salary adjustment in a 2002-2003 agreement that gave each teacher $475 for that year.

The second agreement was a three-year contract running from Sept 1, 2003 to Aug. 31, 2006.

It gives teachers a 3 percent increase for the first two years and a 3.2 percent increase the final year.

Teachers’ health insurance follows an independent fact-finding report with teacher costs for 2003-2004 tripling, 2004-2005 increasing four times, and 2005-2006 increase five times.

The board also approved a three-year contract running from July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2006 with education technicians that called for a 2.5 percent increase for each year. Health insurances co-pay by the employees double in the first year and increase each year after that.

Contract negotiations between the association and school board were finally settled with a state mediator and school Superintendent Robert Wall. This came after mediators, fact-finders and state labor board representatives.

School Committee Chairman Clint Brooks said there was a handshake agreement between all parties to dedicate themselves to recreate a more effective educational environment.

“It was a long process,” Brooks said. “When you enter a negotiation you do not expect to walk away winning something. We enter negotiations with the intent in making sure both sides are happy where it ends up. We did it to make sure we can offer quality education programs and to have people in place who are content and satisfied for the quality expected.”

Association President Sherry Gilbert said, “We’re comfortable with the contract. We gave and they gave. We feel we gave a whole lot.”

Co-chief negotiator for education technicians, Sharon LaBrecque, said, “I felt that the negotiations team worked very hard and put in long hours and put in a lot of thought and hard work.”

“I would like to say it’s just been hours but it has literally been years and the experience has been difficult and yet the end result is very acceptable, said Julie Taylor, a co-chief negotiator for the teachers. “I would like to thank all the teachers and education technicians for supporting us and the negotiating process.”

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