CEA represents about 1,500 teachers and school support staff.
The new contracts — one for 2013-2015 and the other for 2015-2018 — include retroactive salary compensation for 2013-2015 and salary increases and contractual adjustments and clarifications for 2015-2018, according to a joint press release on Tuesday.
“While our members received salary increases in the past years, they had not advanced a step on the salary guide for at least four years," NJEA Representative and CEA negotiator Myron Plotkin said. "In the new contract for 2015-2018, members will uniformly advance steps over the five-year contract, including receiving retroactive compensation for 2013 – 2015."
According to Brendan Lowe, spokesperson for the Camden City School District, salaries rose about two percent from a starting salary of $51,887 to $53,184. The maximum salary rose from $100,717 to $103,446.
The changes ensure that:
• all teachers will receive the same amount of time-off during their workday
• pay for teachers and other members who attend voluntary professional development programs will double
• salaries will double for athletic coaches and other staff members who are responsible for extracurricular or after-school activities
• salaries for Community School Coordinators — who do anything from helping sick children with homework to doing interpreting for Spanish-speaking families — will rise from $16,290 to $21,290 for starting salaries and from $32,612 to $37,612 for maximum salaries
Lowe said the changes will also benefit students.
"Depending on how school leaders schedule their classes, some high school students may gain nearly two weeks of instructional time over the course of the school year," he said. "That’s assuming an increase of about 20 minutes a day."
