Southmoreland school directors on Thursday approved salary and other terms and conditions of the proposed labor contract with teachers. The biggest change in the four-year agreement involves the switch from an indemnity to a Preferred Provider health insurance plan. In the 2008-09 year, teachers will contribute 5 percent of their monthly salary with a cap of $20 for a single individual and $50 for all other plans. They will also be responsible for co-pays and deductibles. In the 2009-10 school year, the contribution will be 7.5 percent with a cap of $30 for a single person and $75 for all other plans. The last year of the contract, teachers will contribute 10 percent with a cap of $40 for a single person and $100 for all other plans. The salary will be raised by $2,100 for the 2007-08 school year retroactively; $2,200 for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years; and $2,300 for the 2010-11 school year, which Superintendent John Halfhill said was very much in line with previous agreements. Supplemental positions, such as coaching, will receive no increase in the first year, a 3 percent increase in the second year and a 3.5 percent increase in the third and fourth years of the contract. There will be a retirement incentive in the third year of the contract of $10,500 for six years, but a minimum of 10 people have to agree to participate in the incentive or it will be void. "It's been a long drawn-out affair, but we got there," board President Darl Lochinger said. Halfhill added that it did take a long time, but "it was always at a good level and saw progress throughout." "We had difficult rounds of bargaining -- it went from ugly to bad and now good, but it was all worth it," said Kim Pfeifer, president of the Southmoreland Education Association. "It all came together, and our objective was to reach a settlement without disrupting the students and the community, and I think we achieved that."

---

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)

---