Thursday night, the Homer-Center School Board approved a new contract with the union representing the district’s teachers.
District Business Manager Gregg Kalemba said the four-year agreement included salary increases of 2.75%, 2.7%, 2.65% and 2.6% over the term of the contract. Health insurance was also a major point of the negotiations, as Kalemba explains.
While the negotiations took longer than expected, both the district and union thanked each other for the genial sessions and for the extra work to bring the deal forward. The deal was approved Wednesday night by the union. The board’s vote to approve was 5-3 with Fred Hayes, Vicki Smith and Dr. Christa Pontani Palmer voting against the deal.
The board also tabled the reappointment of Superintendent Ralph Cecere for a five-year agreement. Board president Michael Bertig said they needed more time to finalize the details of the contract.
In the reorganization meeting that came before the voting session, the board re-elected Michael Bertig as president and Dan Fabin as vice-president. The board is also accepting applications to fill two vacancies on the board. One is from the resignation of Fred Hayes and the other is due to Kelly Elliot not accepting the seat she won in the general election. Applications are due on December 18th and the board will review them over the holidays.
