Shawnee Mission teachers approve new contract

Teachers in the Shawnee Mission School District have approved a new contract with the district.

Linda Sieck, president of the National Education Association-Shawnee Mission, said Friday that the union has completed tallying the results and the vote was “favorable.”

“We are happy that the contract has been ratified by both sides, and we are looking forward to working together this year,” Sieck said in a statement.

The school board signed off on the agreement during a special Oct. 11 meeting. The new contract, which retroactively went into effect July 1 and runs through June 30, was developed through a series of meetings with a federal mediator after talks between the school district and the NEA broke down this summer.

Under the agreement, the teachers will not see a boost to their base salaries, but they will receive one-time stipends Dec. 20 if they are frozen on the district’s pay scale and have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Those with bachelor’s degrees will receive $1,025, while those with master’s degrees or above will receive $1,375.

The district will pay each teacher an additional $17 a month to make up for increases to medical insurance premiums.

Not including added health care, the district expects to pay an additional $2.9 million for the agreement, which also made some changes to professional development and the leave policy.

This story was originally published October 21, 2016 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Shawnee Mission teachers approve new contract."