PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend Education Association and the Port Townsend School District have reached a tentative agreement for a new two-year contract.
“The agreement begins to meet our goals around collaboration time, compensation and communication around teacher evaluation,” said association president Chris Pierson.
“The School Board will consider and hopefully adopt the contract at their next session.”
The School Board is expected to consider the proposal at 6 p.m. Monday in the conference room in the Gael Stuart Building, 1610 Blaine St.
David Engle, who retires as the district’s superintendent next week, said he was happy with the new contract.
“Both sides bargained in good faith, and we came out with an agreement that allows us to carry on for the next two years,” he said.
Details of the proposed contract will not be disclosed to the public until the Monday meeting, according to union member Roger Mills.
If approved, the new contract is expected to address some of the concerns voiced by the teachers at two recent board meetings about low salaries that are not compatible with other districts.
Aside from the salary adjustment, the new contract includes compensation for collaboration time and “cleaned up some language” in other areas, according to Mills.
“This puts us in the middle of the pack and gives us a better chance of recruiting new teachers to the district,” Mills said.
According to the website Teacher Salary Info, the average teacher salary in the state is $54,033.
Under the old contract, the average in Port Townsend is $48,872, it said.
The website said Port Townsend teacher salaries range from $23,940 for preschool to $73,890 for a tenured high school teacher.
Bremerton salaries range from $31,349 to $78,831, respectively.
The Port Angeles range is from $24,671 to $74,665.
Pierson said it isn’t all about pay.
The allocation of Time, Responsibility, Incentive (TRI) time pay that teachers receive for partial compensation for work they are already doing to develop, maintain and enrich student programs has become an important point, he said.
Compared to similarly sized districts, Port Townsend’s maximum TRI allocation is $4,771, compared to $9,318 for South Whidbey and $10,468 for Mount Baker.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
