After more than a year of negotiations, the Anchorage School District and the local teachers’ union have reached a tentative contract agreement.
In a joint statement on Saturday, officials with ASD and the Anchorage Education Association said the agreement includes “a meaningful salary increase” and a boost to how much the district contributes to teachers’ health care. Both were major sticking points during negotiations.
Newly-elected AEA president Christi Sitz celebrated the agreement in an interview Tuesday. Her union represents roughly 2,800 educators.
“We have worked really hard with the ASD bargaining team to come to an agreement that’s palatable to both of us,” she said.
If approved, the three-year contract would increase teacher salaries by 5% in each of the first two years and by 4% in the third. The district would also raise its monthly contribution to teachers’ health care to $2,200 in the first year, with an additional $100 increase in each of the final two years. Plus, the contract would retroactively give teachers a 3% raise for the current school year.
ASD Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt said the agreement represents months of collaboration.
“Reaching this tentative agreement during a period of rising costs and significant budget pressure was challenging, but our focus never wavered — our teachers are the heart of this district, and student success begins in their classrooms,” he said in the statement.
The tentative deal follows roughly 15 months of negotiations. Talks escalated in November when the groups scheduled arbitration for the first time in nearly two decades. At the time, the district’s last offer was a 3% raise for three years, and the union asked for increases of 8%, 7% and 6% in each successive year.
While the contract differs significantly from the union’s original proposal — a one-year contract with a 15% salary increase — Sitz said it still offers something positive for all members.
“There may be some people that find a longer contract without that single wage increase in one year, they might not find that palatable,” Sitz said. “But we need to make sure that we are doing things that are in the best interest of all our members.”
AEA members will vote on the tentative agreement between Jan. 28 and Jan. 30. If ratified, the Anchorage School Board would then vote on the contract in early February.
