Phila. teacher raises put in 3 pct. range | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/21/2010

Phila. teacher raises put in 3 pct. range | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/21/2010

Philadelphia public school teachers would receive raises in the 3 percent range under a three-year contract settlement they will vote on tonight, according to sources close to the negotiations.

But it wasn't clear how many raises there would be or when the first raise would kick in, although it would not be immediately.


Teachers in the 167,000-student district received a 4 percent raise in March under a contract extension.


Union and district officials declined to release details until union leadership could brief teachers today.


A beginning teacher in the district receives $42,755, the median salary is $66,986, and the high is $84,882.


Two sources familiar with the negotiations but who did not disclose details said the financial terms were "not outrageous."


They also said the contract was not expected to depend on any extra city or state help to pay for it. The second source called the package "fiscally responsible."


The percentage increase for teachers is the latest detail to emerge on the pact, which was reached over the long Martin Luther King's Birthday weekend and announced Tuesday morning.


The 17,000-member Philadelphia Federation of Teachers will meet at 7 tonight to vote on the pact, which runs through August 2012.