Norwich — The Norwich Free Academy board of trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved a three-year contract with the teachers' union — the only labor union at the academy — that calls for raises totaling 9.5 percent over the three years.
The board discussed the contract for 30 minutes in executive session Wednesday before voting without comment to approve the package. The contract with the Education Association of NFA calls for raises of 3.15 percent in the first year, 3.19 percent in the second year and 3.16 percent in the third year. Union members agreed to pay “slightly higher” premiums in health insurance plans, board of trustees Chairwoman Sarette Williams said after the vote.
Williams thanked the union for its “commitment to excellence for our students,” and thanked the board negotiations committee for its work on the contract. She said the goal for both parties is to attract and retain top faculty at the academy.
The contract will begin July 1, 2017, and will run through June 30, 2020, and will cover 194 faculty members, Head of School David Klein said. Negotiations concluded on Dec. 19, and the union ratified the proposed contract on Dec. 21, he said.
“The negotiations process was thorough and extremely professional,” Klein said, reading a prepared statement following the vote. “The decorum demonstrated throughout the process was consistent with the strong and noble core values that define Norwich Free Academy.”
Klein said the proposed 2017-18 draft budget is not yet completed and will be presented to the board of trustees at the Feb. 21 meeting. But NFA officials have informed school superintendents in the eight districts that contract with NFA to expect a 2.5 percent increase in tuition for the 2017-18 school year — as projected by NFA officials last year for the partner districts.
Union Co-presidents Bryan Burdick and Allison Mohler did not attend Wednesday's special meeting. In a prepared statement, Burdick, who also served as negotiation committee chairman, said he was “proud” of the effort by both parties in reaching the agreement.
“Both sides mutually agreed to terms that were equitable for both the faculty and the Board of Trustees,” Burdick's statement said. “This contract represents the best contract possible for all parties given the current climate, and I commend the work both sides devoted to these negotiations.”
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