Contract Approved for District 196 Teachers, Nurses

The Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district board on Monday approved 6-0 a two-year contract for the district's 2,100 teachers and nurses, which the Dakota County United Educators members ratified last week.

The contract, effective July 1 of this year through June 30, 2013, allows the employees to move up on the pay scale based on education or years of work in both of the contract years, and includes a 1-percent pay increase to the top level of the salary schedule and longevity schedule in the second year.

The cost of the health insurance program that covers teachers and nurses is slated to increase by 4.1 percent during the two years of the contract; the employees will pay the same percentage of their premiums as during the previous contract.

Under the contract's parameters, a first-year teacher would earn $36,592. A teacher at the top of a schedule with a master's degree would earn $66,395 and an additional $6,993 in longevity money in the second year of the contract.

Negotiations began in May, and the tentative agreement was reached later than usual this year because of the state government shutdown in July, which left the district unclear about its financial situation.

Dakota County United Educators President Jim Smola said he was pleased with the contract, despite few increases in financial benefits for employees; the district and union have worked well together during economically challenging times, he said.

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Board member Rob Duchscher attended the board workshop but not the regular meeting, due to illness.