ADAMS – Southland Independent School District No.

Wednesday, January 12, 2000

ADAMS – Southland Independent School District No. 500’s board of education has approved a new two-year contract with the Southland Education Association.

The approval came at a special meeting of the Southland school board Monday evening.

According to Larry Tompkins, Southland’s superintendent of public schools, "We know that the strength of our school is our quality teachers and we also know we have fallen below the state’s median salary scale for teachers.

"With this contract, we have gained some ground on other schools and, hopefully, made it easier to retain our quality teachers and, in turn, to attract new quality teachers in the future."

In the first-year, 1999-2000, of the two-year contract, SEA members will receive a 4.1 percent salary increase and a 1.5 percent increase for insurance and other benefits as well as a 0.5 percent increase in extracurricular and service work pay.

The increases in the second year, 2000-2001, of the contract are similar: 4.2 percent for salaries, 1.4 percent for benefits and 0.5 percent for extracurricular duties.

The total cost to the district in the first year of the new contract will be $120,625 and in the second year it will be $125,045.

The Southland Education Association has 52 members.