Washington School District, teachers reach contract agreement
The Washington School Board approved a five-year teachers’ contract with the Washington Education Association.
The new contract, which was unanimously approved at Monday’s school board meeting, will run through June 30, 2029.
The teachers voted to ratify the contract the same day.
“I think we took some good steps to move the district forward. I think all parties wanted to come together to find a good compromise, and I believe we achieved that,” said Washington School District Superintendent George Lammay. “I’m grateful to the WEA. Negotiations lasted over a period of months and they were diligent and hard-working throughout the process. It was a positive experience in a lot of ways.”
The contract includes an average annual increase of 4.2% in teachers’ salaries over the life of the contract.
The contract increases the starting salary for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree to $47,360 for the 2024-25 school year. A teacher with a masters degree will earn $48,660, and the salary for a teacher with a masters at the top of the scale will be $82,288.
By the end of the contract – the 2028-29 school year – a starting teacher with a masters will earn $55,360, and a teacher on the highest step (which has been reduced from 19 steps to 17 steps) will earn $90,000.
“We felt like we needed to do better for our teachers financially, and I think we made significant progress getting there,” said Lammay.
Another key item is health care, where teachers’ health insurance premiums will be frozen at their current level, contributing 12%, for the next five years.
Classes in the district begin Thursday.