CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield School Board and the Clearfield Education Association have agreed to a new three-year contract that both sides are calling a fair compromise.
The new pact, effective July 1, 2012, includes a 1-year wage freeze for the 187 teacher members of CEA and an average increase of $1,000 in the following two years. The new agreement also includes an increase in the premium cost that employees will pay for health care benefits in the third year.
“During this difficult budget crisis our association felt that it was important to work closely with the district to ensure that we were able to keep our students achieving,” said CEA President Paul Jeffries. “We also wanted to make sure that our district remains competitive so that we can continue to attract and retain the highest quality professionals to our classrooms.”
School board president Dave Glass said he was very pleased with the collaborative process of the bargaining process.
“This contract settlement is fair to both sides. By agreeing to a wage freeze, the association is helping the district to continue its work on its building renovation projects. This is very important for our students,” Glass said. “We are very fortunate to live in a community where everyone recognizes that our children are the top priority. This team approach is ensuring that our public schools continue to flourish, even during this less than ideal economic climate.”
Both the union and the school board said they are encouraging all public education advocates to make their voices heard in Harrisburg so that legislators will restore funding to the state education budget.
“If Governor Corbett’s proposed budget is passed intact, our district will have lost more than $1.7 million since 2010. We must make sure that our legislators recognize how critical it is to stop these cuts from continuing,” Jeffries said. “Last week the state senate took a good first step toward restoring some of the funding. We need to make sure the state House follows this lead.”
The new contract, which covers the period from 2012- 2015 also includes some other minor changes, including the elimination of some paid positions, the addition of language allowing teachers to use their sick days for family members and a $5 per hour increase for extracurricular duties.
