The Mahomet-Seymour Board of Education approved a four-year teacher contract Monday night.
Mahomet-Seymour Education Association leadership met with district leadership informally over five sessions in April and May to review shared worksheets and documentation on district financial data. After discussions to modify the language component of the contract, the negotiation teams met in a “condensed bargaining session” in July. Although there were three sessions scheduled through July, a tentative agreement was reached very late on the second evening.
“This was a very professional, collaborative and productive negotiations,” MSEA lead negotiator Eric Potter said. “Both teams worked extremely hard to do what was best for the students and community of the Mahomet-Seymour School District.”
The main components of the agreement include salary schedule increases of .5 percent in 2015, .75 percent in 2016, and 1 percent increases in 2017 and 2018. The average step increase for the teacher salary schedule is 2.1 percent.
The district will also contribute approximately 4% to each individual’s health insurance each year. In addition, eligibility for the early retirement incentive is now linked to the first moment of Teacher’s Retirement System eligibility for teachers, and the incentive was reduced to 5.5 percent per year.
This agreement will run through June 30, 2018. It is the first four year agreement in the district since 1997.
“The school district is pleased to have a collaboratively reached agreement,” Superintendent Rick Johnston said. “As a district we can continue our vision for an emphasis on growth and improvement-striving to meet the needs of all students. The four-year component allows us to continue with long range fiscal planning for the district.”
