Newport reaches tentative teachers' accord
1:24 PM Fri, Aug 29, 2008 | Permalink
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NEWPORT -- School officials and the Teachers Association of Newport have reached a tentative agreement on a new contract, Schools. Supt. John Ambrogi announced today. The next step is for the union membership to ratify the contract, which would then be followed by a vote of the School Committee. Ambrogi said he did not know when the union would vote, and union president Stephanie Martland could not immediately be reached for comment. Ambrogi said the accord was reached during a negotiation session that began at 3 p.m. on Thursday and ended about three hours later. He declined to discuss the agreement in any great detail, saying only that it is a multi-year pact. The current three-year contract last through Sunday, with teachers scheduled to return to school Tuesday, after the Labor Day holiday. Students begin classes the following day. -- Journal staff writer Richard Salit The current contract began requiring teachers to share in the cost of their health coverage. Their annual contribution now stands at 10 percent of the cost of their premiums. The agreement also ended lifetime health coverage for teachers hired during and after the 2006-07 school year and anyone with fewer than 10 years of service in Newport schools. Teachers who retired after 2005 and remained in the lifetime-coverage plan now pay 15 percent of their premiums. The "buyback" that teachers receive for not accepting health coverage is 50 percent of the premium, with a cap of $5,800. Salary increases were 3.25 percent the first year and 3.75 last year and this year. The base salary this year for a top-scale teacher is $67,263, excluding additional pay for advanced coursework. The last major labor unrest in Newport took place in 1995, when the union went on strike for seven days. 
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