Published: August 27, 2008 11:03 pm            

North Star extends teachers' deal with 7-0 vote

BOSWELL — The North Star school board on Wednesday unanimously approved a three-year contract extension for teachers.

The 7-0 vote came at the end of a three-hour board meeting in the high school library.

The new deal gives teachers a 3 percent annual pay increase. That’s an average raise of about $1,700 a year.

Both sides said they were pleased with the deal, which was reached early in the talks.

“We had a tentative agreement in the later part of May,” Superintendent Dennis Leyman said. “It’s always nice to start the school year with this out of the way.”

The previous contract was a five-year deal that expired in June. Both sides have been negotiating an extension since January, said Louis Lepley, a teacher and co-lead negotiator for the North Star School District Education Association.

Teachers ratified the agreement Tuesday.

“I think both sides sat down with the best interest of the community, the school district and the students,” Lepley said.

The new contract is similar to the one that expired in June, with health-care costs remaining about the same, he said.

“The biggest thing with any contract is health care,” Lepley said.

“We kept the old plan, and the cost really didn’t go up.”

        

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