Two sides arrive at tentative agreement
BY TOYNETT HALL Staff Writer

HOWELL - Final details are being worked out in a new three-year contract between the Howell Board of Education and the Howell Township EducationAssociation.

Board member Valerie Rosenberg, who chairs the labor committee, said, "There is a tentative agreement; however, both sides are still working out the legal language" in the contract.

The HTEA's current three-year contract with the K-8 school district is due to expire on June 30. The new deal is expected to cover the 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years.

Representatives of the two sides began negotiations on a new contract just before Thanksgiving. The sides have met several times and information regarding the deal is expected to be available when the board meets on March 5.

The HTEA has more than 950 members and includes teachers, custodians, support staff and teachers' assistants.

Although there will be an increase in the total amount of money budgeted for teachers' salaries, every teacher will not receive the same percentage increase during the course of the contract. An individual teacher's percentage increase is based on the salary guide, which is determined by the board and the union every three years.

Some HTEA members will receive a larger percentage increase and some union members will receive a smaller percentage increase on an annual basis. The amount of the increase is determined by the employee's years of service in the district and their place on the Howell salary guide.

In 2007-08 the starting salary for a teacher in Howell with a bachelor's degree was $42,525.

In 2008-09 the starting salary for a teacher in Howell with a bachelor's degree is proposed to increase to $43,725.

As a means of comparison, in 2005-06 the starting salary for a teacher in Howell with a bachelor's degree was $39,025.

The current top salary for a teacher with a bachelor's degree is $90,625.

When contacted by a reporter, HTEA President William O'Brien declined to comment on the negotiations and on anything having to do with the teachers contract.