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Teachers win two-digit raise
by Jason Dietrich
The Redondo Unified School Board on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve a contract guaranteeing a 10-percent across-the-board raise for public school teachers.
The new contract sets the starting teacher pay at $39,092, maxing out at $70,194 after 29 years of service.
Planners anticipate the double-digit raise will cost the district $2.1 million this year and $2.3 million next year. The raise was made possible by an extra $1.8 billion funneled into the state's school budget in May by Gov. Gray Davis.
"The money he gave us is a restoration of funds that were trimmed from the budget in the early '90s and makes up for years where we weren't able to increase salaries very much," said Assistant Superintendent Tom Cox.
Last year teachers received a 2.6 percent raise to offset cost of living increases. Teachers started earning their new benefits Oct. 1.
The three-year contract should take the district to June 2003, and allows for a re-negotiation of salaries next year. Teachers and staff will sit down around the bargaining table again in the spring, nailing down their agreement after the state budget is released.
"We're all together, working to create the best educational environment possible," Cox said.
"In negotiations you do sit on the other side of the table, but we try to come up with a plan that's fair to everybody," he said. ER