Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan teachers have new contract

Last update: November 24, 2009 - 9:28 PM

Print this story

Follow local news on Twitter

More from Local + Metro

The Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school board voted unanimously Monday night to approve a new contract with the district's teachers and nurses.

The two-year contract between the district and Dakota County United Educators (DCUE) is retroactive to July 1 and runs through June 2011. Teachers and nurses will get a 1 percent increase in their salary schedule this school year and another 1 percent in 2010-11.

DCUE represents nearly 2,200 district employees.

Under the previous contract, salaries went up by 2.6 percent in 2007-08 and 2.57 percent in 2008-09.

A first-year teacher with a bachelor's degree will make $36,230 this year under the new contract, while a seasoned teacher with a master's degree will earn $65,087 plus longevity pay. The increased cost of health insurance premiums will be split evenly between the district and union members.

The contract will cost the district an additional 6.2 percent over two years, said district spokesman Tony Taschner. That includes insurance costs and "step-and-lane" increases that teachers get for additional years of experience and earning extra college credits.

The district and its teachers agreed on the new contract nearly two months before their state-mandated deadline. Minnesota districts face financial penalties from the state if they do not have teacher contracts approved by Jan. 15.

SARAH LEMAGIE

Recent Local + Metro stories

Dateline Minneapolis: Inefficiency marks USDA lunch program - November 24, 2009

Dateline Minneapolis: Inefficiency marks USDA lunch program - A graduate of Minneapolis South High who's doing her doctoral thesis on school lunch programs in Minnesota says waste is widespread -- and costly -- in the federal food giveaways. More