Details from New Trier Teachers Contract Released

New Trier High School faculty members voted Thursday afternoon to approve a new three-year contract. The District 203 Board of Education will vote on the contract at a special meeting on Sept. 30. Both groups must approve the contract for the contract to take effect.

The contract aims to maintain the District's financial stability, while still retaining and attracting high-quality teachers.

"Township residents made it clear in the 2011 Community Survey that attracting and retaining the highest quality teachers is a top priority for New Trier," Board President Al Dolinko said in a statement released by New Trier. "They also made it clear that they want the District to manage its resources wisely. This contract achieves both goals."

If approved, the contract will increase teachers' base salaries by 1.5 percent in 2013-14 an by 1 percent in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 school years. According to a press release by the school, the increases are comparable to similar districts. Teachers who have not yet reached the top of their lane or scale will receive annual step increases — 2.11 percent in 2013-14, 1.94 percent in 2014-15 and 1.79 percent in 2015-16. Teachers with over twenty years of experience will receive a longevity bonus of 0.42 percent over the next three years.

The contract will also reduce the District's benefits cost by shortening the health insurance premium obligations to retired teachers by a year, shifting more costs to teachers who choose the most expensive health insurance plan and eliminating the one percent pre-retirement salary increase in the fifth year before retirement.

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