Mehlville School District teachers will receive an overall salary increase of 4.8 percent for the coming school year.

The Board of Education voted unanimously last week to approve a one-year agreement with the Mehlville National Education Associ-ation for the 2009-2010 school year. Nearly 97 percent of MNEA members who voted on the agreement “did so favorably,” MNEA President Kay Cappos told board members during a period for public comment at the May 28 meeting.

The agreement reflects a 4.8-percent increase — $2,061,908 — in funds allocated for teachers’ salaries compared to the previous year.

Individual raises for teachers for the 2009-2010 school year will range from 2.5 percent to 10.8 percent, according to Superintendent Terry Noble.

Teachers did not receive a salary increase for the 2008-2009 school year, but instead voted a year ago to accept a pay freeze because of the district’s financial situation. For the 2007-2008 school year, teachers received a 6-percent, across-the-board salary increase.

One of the provisions in the approved pact states, “We agree in principle the goal is to move the teacher salary schedule near-er to county median in order to retain and attract quality staff.”

To help achieve that, the pact also states:

• “Teachers will be recovering the step lost last year — for those employed in the Mehlville School District during 2007-2008 — and gaining the current anticipated step.”

• “The following addendum will be in-cluded in teacher contracts: ‘Any savings exceeding $70,000 between now and Aug. 1 resulting from teacher staff changes will be added to the base salary.”’ A total of $70,000 would be needed to add $100 to the base salary, according to Noble.

The 2009-2010 salary schedule is comprised of five channels — Bachelor’s, Bachelor’s +15, Master’s, Master’s +30 and Multiple Advanced Degrees. Channels denote a teacher’s level of education. Each channel also includes steps that represent each year a teacher has worked. The 2009-2010 salary schedule adds one step — 17 — to the channels for Master’s, Master’s +30 and Multiple Advanced Degrees.

Noble told the Call the addition of the 17th step accounted for the raises that to-taled 10.8 percent.

“There are a few teachers who moved two steps, from step 15 to step 17, and received a 10.8-percent increase. As you recall, step 16 was already a mega step. Even though we split it, it still results in a large jump when two steps are granted,” he said.

For the coming school year, the salary for a beginning teacher will be $34,083, up from $33,853. Teachers on the 17th step of the Multiple Advanced Degrees channel will be paid $72,946 for 2009-2010, up from last year’s 16th-step salary of $71,116.

The approved agreement also reduces by one year advancement to a longevity step in three channels — Master’s, Masters +30 and Multiple Advanced Degrees:

• Teachers at the top of the Master’s channel for four consecutive years will receive a longevity step of $400 added to their yearly scheduled salary at the beginning of their fifth year. Teachers previously had to be on the top of this channel for five years.

• Teachers at the top of the Master’s +30 channel for four consecutive years will receive a longevity step of $700 added to their yearly scheduled salary at the beginning of their fifth year. Teachers previously had to be on the top of this channel for five years.

• Teachers at the top of the Multiple Advanced Degrees channel for four consecutive years will receive a longevity step of $1,000 added to their yearly scheduled salary at the beginning of their fifth year. Teachers previously had to be on the top of this channel for five years.

During the period for public comment, Cappos told the board, ” … I’m here to speak about the discussions package that was approved by both the district team and the Mehlville NEA members. I’m proud to say almost 97 percent of our members who voted on the package did so favorably.

“While I could speak at great length why teachers consider this a fair package, I would like to communicate instead about our procedure. Every year, Mehlville NEA starts our bargaining process by surveying all staff. We try to leave our questions fairly open ended so we do not steer those taking our survey in any way.

“The first questions ask for three strengths of the district. Naturally, teachers most often comment about the students, teachers, other staff members and/or parents. How-ever, this year a quick tally showed that 61 times Superintendent Terry Noble directly or indirectly was cited as a strength. Phrases such as ‘open and honest,’ ‘genuine leader’ and ‘integrity’ were used.

“Twenty-eight times the Board of Education was listed. It was noted the present board works together as a team for the betterment of the district. I can assure you a few years ago the Mehlville NEA survey results did not include the superintendent and/or the Board of Education frequently as a strength. I’ve been a member of the bargaining team for 11 years. While this was a tough year in some ways, it was easy in other ways. It was refreshing to bargain with people who have the same goal as we have — to make the Mehlville School District the best it can be.

“After all, that is what every one of our students deserve. That is what our community deserves today. That is what our community deserves in the future. It’s so much easier to bargain when the goal is the same for everyone in the room. That’s what makes this final package a winner for everyone, but most of all for our students,” Cappos said.

Board member Karl Frank Jr. later credited voter approval of Proposition T last November for the ability to provide raises for teachers, but noted the approved agreement “does nothing to get us even closer to the (county) median.”

Prop T will transfer roughly 31 cents per $100 of assessed valuation from the district’s debt-service fund to the operating fund. The measure will generate roughly $5.6 million annually for the operating fund. Prop T will not increase the overall tax rate, but will extend the district’s bonded indebtedness by 15 years — to 2029.

“Basically, it does nothing to get us even closer to the median. We’re going to essentially stay at the same place. And another thing that came out of this that I wasn’t as aware of until this year is that we talk about teachers’ salaries being at the county median, but we have teachers themselves who have had their salaries frozen two or three times …, he said, noting that as a result, some teachers may be as many as three steps behind where they should be.

“… Because of Proposition T, one of the things we were able to accomplish is … for all the teachers last year that lost a step, they’re able to recover that step from last year and then also advance the additional step …,” Frank said. “This does nothing to get the teachers even closer to the county median, which is so frustrating because I think that they should be that much closer and that also we have teachers that aren’t on the steps they should be on …’