Teachers in the Winfield school district overwhelmingly approved a new contract Wednesday, ending a two-month long stalemate between USD 465 and its teachers.
The school board signed off on the contract Thursday morning, according to a district spokesperson.
A final tally showed that 93 percent of teachers favored the new contract and 7 percent were opposed. Nearly 90 percent of teachers voted on the issue, with 224 voting yes and 17 voting no.
Teachers voted down an earlier offer in September.
The rejected offer contained an increase to the salary pool of just under 6 percent, district teachers had asked for a 7 percent hike. After some negotiations ? and increased revenue from a higher student count ? the district raised the offer to 7 percent this month.
The new contract is retroactive to the beginning of the school year.
Justin Olmstead, a spokesperson for the teachers, said the contract is a positive step forward in an effort to attract new teachers to the district. But, he added, the district still must do more to raise pay for teachers who have been in the district for several years.
This year’s contract did not do enough to address those teachers, he said.
“We’re very happy with how things turned out,” he said. “But there’s still work to do and negotiations for next year start in just two or three months.”
