Decorah School Board approves two-year contract extension with teachers

The Decorah School Board has approved a two-year extension of its current contract with the Decorah Education Association.

The agreement will cover the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years.  In the first year of the extension, teachers will receive an average of a 1.72 percent pay raise.  Teachers will receive an average of a 2.25 percent pay raise in the second year.  Contract language will remain the same as present for both years in the contract extension.

The total pay package will cost $239,000 in additional funds for the first year of the contract.  The State of Iowa has promised an increase of $91,625 in state aid for 2017-2018.  That means the Decorah School Board and administrators will have to come up with $147,000 in budget cuts.

School Superintendent Mike Haluska called the agreement "a fair settlement."  The contract was agreed upon as the Iowa Legislature was considering a bill to remove many of the collective bargaining rights of public employees, including teachers.  The bill passed Thursday night, but because Decorah teachers and school officials had reached a tentative agreement Thursday afternoon, the package could be approved before the legislation takes  effect  (after the presumed signing by Governor Branstad).