The era of the $100,000- a-year teacher arrived in New York last night.
Under a tentative deal, Mayor Bloomberg and the United Federation of Teachers agreed to a two-year contract that would increase the maximum teacher salary to $100,049 – up from $93,416. Starting salaries would rise from $42,512 to $45,530.
“I think we can say that we’ve put our money where our mouth is,” Bloomberg during a late-night press conference at City Hall.
“[The] agreement is a testament to the commitment of both the city and the UFT to providing teachers with the salaries they deserve for their continued service to our 1.1 million public-school students.”
In exchange for the pay raise, the union agreed to a new voluntary peer-intervention program, in which other teachers will help train tenured teachers who are “struggling,” the mayor said.
“Finally, we are making real progress,” said UFT President Randi Weingarten.
Each of the city’s 120,000 teachers will also get a lump-sum payment of $750.
The contract covers the period from October 2007 to October 2009.
With this latest raise, teacher salaries have risen 43 percent during Bloomberg’s time as mayor.
The current contract, which expires next year, gave teachers a 15 percent raise in exchange for spending more time in the classroom.
Schools Chancellor Joel Klein said, “Just remember one thing – this is about the kids.”