Page 10 — THE LACONIA DAILY SUN, Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Mr. C ’s Taxi 267-7134 Serving Laconia Daily
McLean’s MOBILE MARINE Now Servicing Snowmobiles and 4-Wheelers!
(603) 528-0750
Give us a call to set up an appointment
Mention This Ad & Get 10% OFF! (Now through 12/31/13)
Hear Healthy for the Holidays!
If Winnisquam union deal approved, teachers with more than 10 years experience will no longer get both ‘step’ & cost-of-living pay hikes each year BY ROGER AMSDEN FOR THE LACONIA DAILY SUN
TILTON — Automatic pay scale step increases for teachers with more than 10 years of experience will be a thing of the past in the Winnisquam Regional School District if a new collective bargaining agreement is approved at the annual school district meeting next March. ‘’There was a perception that teachers are getting double raises because they received both the step increases as well as cost of living increases and we wanted to deal with that,’’ said Winnisquam Regional School Board Chair Michael Gagne. Advancing steps that equate to years of experience are built into the union salary schedules of almost all school districts and teachers typically move up the ladder, one year at a time, until there are no more steps available to them. A teacher moving from one step to the next will typically see an increase in pay on the order of 2 or 3 percent, plus the value of each step will often be adjusted upward by the terms of an agreement, adding another 2 or 3 percent to base pay. The Winnisquam School District currently has 41 steps but that will be reduced to from to 11 in the first year of the agreement and 10 the following year. Gagne said that the agreement which was recently reached between the Winnisquam Regional School District and the Winnisquam Regional Teachers’ Association also increases the starting salary for teachers by $5,000 over a three-year period. He said that in the first year of the three-year agreement, the base pay for new teachers will increase to $34,000 and that it will increase in subsequent years to $35,205 and $36,191. Currently starting pay for a new teacher is $31,152. ‘We wanted to attract more teaching candidates and retain staff by making the district’s salaries competitive with those of nearby school districts,’’ said Gagne. In the first year of the new contract teachers will be advanced two steps because they are working without a contract this year. The step increases in the first year will be 3 percent of base salary for each step through step 15 and 1.94 percent of the base salary for steps 15-41. The total “new” cost of the package agreed to will
LOCAL EXPERIENCED SOCIAL SECURITY ATTORNEY
Time For Your FREE Annual Hearing Screening! Maintaining healthy hearing is one of the nicest holiday gifts you can give yourself or a loved one.
Have you been denied Social Security Disability? Attorney Stanley Robinson has successfully handled disability cases for over 30 years.
The first step towards a life of better hearing is easy, fun and free - a comprehensive hearing screening from the caring people at Sound Advice.
THIS DECEMBER ONLY SAVE $400 OFF A PAIR OF OUR LATEST HEARING
DEVICES - THE OTICON NERA and NERA PRO!*
Call 603-536-4880 Ext. 6320 for your complimentary screening. We promise a quick and very enjoyable experience. We can’t wait to help you live a life of healthy hearing!
Call 1•603•536-4880 Ext. 6320
be $559,674 for the 2014-2015 school year. a 7.25 percent increase in the district’s teacher salary account. In the second year of the contract steps 1-11 will see a three percent increase in value and those still in that experience range will also move up one step. Those with no more steps to ascend to will receive a three percent cost of living increase. Total salary increase will be $347,569 for 2015-2016, a 4.2 percent increase in the salary account. In the final year of the contract steps 1-10 will receive a 3 percent increase in value and teachers who are no longer able to step up will receive 2.5 percent cost of living increases. Total increase will be $270,592, a 3.13 percent increase in the salary account. A teacher on step 5 currently making $36,420 will see a salary increase to $40,129 next year, $42,598 in 2015-16 and $44,877 in 2016-17. By contrast a teacher on step 15 currently making $47,322 will see an increase to $49,599 next year, $51,357 in 2015-16 and $52,641 the following year. The teacher currently on step 5 will see an increase of $8,467 over the life contract while the teacher on step 15 will only see an increase of $5,319, more than $3,000 less than the teacher with 10 years less experience. A major focus of the new contract according to Gagne and Brenda Lawrence, president of the Winnisquam Regional Teachers Association, was the “promotion of professional growth among our existing staff”. The contract increases the number of teaching days from 188 to 189 in the first year and then adds another day in the second year. There is also an increase in monies made available for professional development, from $90,000 to $110,000 per year. A new health care benefit was also added to the contract for retiring teachers. If the agreement is approved, they will be eligible to receive a $6,000 health care allowance annually for a period of five years, or until they become eligible for Medicare, whichever comes first. “This new benefit encourages our existing staff members to remain in the district long term,” said Gagne and Lawrence. “The benefit also makes retirement a reality for some of our existing staff members, with potential savings to the district, long term.”
603-286-2019 shrlawoffice@gmail.com
New Patients Welcome
Periodontics and Dental Implants: Specialty Trained and Certified
Delta Dental Premier Provider
Latex-Free Office
Complimentary Appointments Are Required
101 Boulder Point Drive, Suite 2
PLYMOUTH, NH
*Oticon Nera and Nera Pro offer expires 12/31/13. C. Kenney NH Lic #H330.
NH State Law requires many health insurance plans to cover a minimum of $3,000 on a pair of hearing aids! WWW.SOUNDADVICEHEARINGCENTERS.COM
General Dentistry Including: • Oral Reconstruction • Tooth Colored Restorations • Crowns, Bridges, Veneers • Root Canal Treatment • Orthodontics
MORTON LEVIN, DDS
603.524.2620 www.mortonlevindds.com 401 GILFORD AVENUE • GILFORD