School board, City Council approve teachers' contract

LACONIA — The Laconia City Council has unanimously endorsed the three-year collective bargaining agreement previously ratified by the Laconia School Department and the Laconia Education Association.

During its April 11 meeting, the City Council announced that the first-year cost of the contract covering 188 teachers and school staff members is anticipated to be $555,422.

“This has been a project that we started last summer,” said School Board Chair Aaron Hayward, “and what we have now for starters is the ability to offer an employer-contributed dental plan to our teachers. We have a three-year contract. And we are incredibly proud of all the hard work that the teachers have done for the city, our students, and really supporting us getting through to this point.”

The new contract will boost the starting salary for a beginning teacher to $43,573 in 2022-23, rising to $44,173 in 2024-2025. A starting teacher with a master’s degree will receive $46,673 during the 2022-23 school year.

One aspect of the plan that Hayward pointed out was a “sick bank” that allows teachers with accrued sick days to donate a day of their time to another teacher who has to take an extended leave due to illness.

“This is actually a sort of goodwill from one educator to another in the case of an unfortunate circumstance that may confront someone who just doesn’t have the sick time,” Hayward said.

He noted there also is an additional health benefit for teachers who have been with the district for 30 or more years.

Tara Columb, representing the union, said, “It was a collaboration more than a negotiation,” saying it was great to be able to work together toward a contract that satisfied everyone.

Mayor Andrew Hosmer noted that it was a tax-cap-compliant contract.

“You take it very seriously in structuring a contract that it is certainly respectful of the taxpayers in the city,” he said. “I think it’s also critically important to be a three-year contract. I think it acknowledges the employment challenges that everyone’s facing, whether it’s the public sector or the private sector right now.”

Hosmer added, “I hope it gives you the ability to both retain and recruit educators in the future so we can continue to build on our successes here in the city and our public school system and really continue to distinguish ourselves for all the right reasons here in the city.”

School Superintendent Steve Tucker commented after the vote, “It’s been a particularly challenging last two years. It’s important to recognize the efforts of staff, to be competitive, and to recruit and retain, and to have a contract that does that.

“We are proud of the way our staff, elected officials, city leaders, and the community came together to support our teachers and education in the Laconia public schools. It is important to note that the contract was overwhelmingly supported by the LEA, the Board, and the Council.”