CLEARFIELD – The Clearfield Area School District, in partnership with the Clearfield Education Support Professionals Association, has announced the approval of their new contract.
On behalf of the district, board President Mary Anne Jackson would like to thank the CESPA members and leadership for their patience in negotiations through the school building and position consolidations.
CESPA President Bev Nicklas stated, “The bargaining team appreciated the respectful tone of the discussion, especially when difficult issues were addressed. We believe the parties achieved an agreement that is fair to the community and meets the needs of our members.”
The new, four-year agreement is retroactive to July 1, 2014 and effective through June 30, 2018, according to Superintendent Terry Struble.
With the complete transformation of the Clearfield area schools, Struble indicated that the contract updated a significant amount of language to bring it in alignment with the current positions and roles within the district.
“Additional language changes will allow the district to utilize some employees more effectively through moving forward,” stated Struble. The CESPA, he said, also accepted changes in healthcare, agreed to higher premium shares and deductibles and to limited costs of benefits with future employees.
Struble noted that employees will see increases of 40 cents per hour each year, amounting to a 2.9 percent increase in the first year. The increases, he said, will be partially offset by the elimination of positions, changes in benefit coverage and greater efficiencies in staff use.