Pittsburgh teachers to get small pay raises in contract extension

Teachers, paraprofessionals and clerical-technical workers in the Pittsburgh Public Schools would get raises next year under a tentative contract extension to be ratified in May.

The district and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers jointly released some details Thursday of the proposal, which would extend the expired collective bargaining agreement through June 30, 2017. 

In the statement, the district and union said neither party would comment on the plan until it is finalized by a vote. But Hill District-based education group and city schools watchdog A+ Schools offered its tentative support the same day.

“We are glad to see that this agreement retains the pay schedule for new and high performing teachers that was a key reform in the prior contract,” A+ Schools board chair Tracey Reed Armant said in a statement. “This provision is critical to building a culture of excellence. Additionally, an increase to salaries for beginning teachers will help PPS be more competitive with surrounding districts when hiring.”

The five-year contracts for all three groups expired June 30, 2015. If approved, the tentative extension would maintain the existing salary scale in which their pay increases occur automatically each year. The value of every step would retroactively increase by 1 percent for the current school year. The pay schedule would increase 1.8 percent for the 2016-17 school year.

The Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers executive board voted Monday to extend the contract, and its 2,800 members will cast ballots May 16 at the union headquarters on the South Side. The federation will hold informational meetings for each bargaining unit. The school board will vote at a date yet to be determined.

Pittsburgh Public was among many school districts in which contract negotiations stalled in part because of uncertainty over the state’s long-delayed budget.

The expired contract was ratified in June 2010 and contained provisions including a pay scale for new teachers that considers performance and additional pay for teachers who took on extra responsibilities.

The parties said they intend to continue their negotiations for a new agreement that would take effect July 1, 2017. 

Molly Born: mborn@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1944 or on Twitter @molly_born.