New Teachers Union Contract Advances

by LAURA GLESBY New Haven Independent

Frustrated by years of working extra jobs to support her family, Fana Hickinson nearly left the teaching job she loves at New Haven Academy — until a draft union contract promised her a salary increase that convinced her to stay.
The Board of Alders Finance Committee heard from Hickinson on Monday evening as local legislators reviewed the latest proposed contract between the New Haven Federation of Teachers (NHFT) and the New Haven Public Schools (NHPS).
That contract — which won the Board of Education’s vote of support in November, and which now heads to the full Board of Alders for a final vote — would grant a nearly 15 percent raise over the course of the next three years.
The raise amounts to an additional $20.1 million toward teachers’ salaries over the next three years. The school system currently budgets about $130 million toward teacher salaries.

Read More This article was originally posted to New Haven Independent