BEDFORD – North Lawrence Community Schools held a public meeting Monday to discuss the tentative agreement made between NLCS and the North Lawrence Education Association (NLEA) through teacher contract negotiations.
In the two-year contract, NLCS will increase its education fund to supplement teacher benefits. All teachers will receive a $1,000 increase in salaries as a stipend to be paid in December 2021. Special Education teachers also have the opportunity to receive an additional $1,000-$2,000 per semester dependent on caseload.
Additional terms of the agreement include an increase in contributions to teachers’ Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) of up to $750 per plan, and a change in the parental leave policy to allow teachers to use up to five sick days in addition to their granted parental leave. A COVID leave bank was also instituted, allowing teachers to pull from this “bank” of leave in the event they have a positive COVID test and need to rely on this resource beyond basic sick leave.
NLCS also will provide additional contributions to health insurance plans, paying up to 85% toward this year’s health insurance costs, which increased by nearly 12 percent—the third-highest jump in premiums in corporation history.
This two-year contract will be reopened during the formal bargaining period in Fall 2022 for the opportunity to further negotiate base salary and health insurance.
There will be a public board meeting Friday, Nov 12 at 5:15 p.m. at the NLCS administration building to vote on the agreement.
