Easton Area School District approves contract for administrators, principals

Saturday, January 23, 2010
By COLIN MCEVOY
The Express-Times

FORKS TWP. | After more than seven months without a contract, the Easton Area School District administrators and principals have been approved for a 2 percent raise and about eight weeks of vacation and personal leave days.

Although normally five years, the new contact lasts only one year, which Human Resources Director John Castrovinci said was the result of concerns about the economy.

The contract is effective July 2009. The school board approved the agreement Thursday.

It allows for 25 vacation days per year and 14 personal leave days, as well as 12 sick days and 14 paid holidays, according to school district documents. The work year lasts 245 days.

The contract also allows retirees to continue collecting benefits until they become eligible for Medicare, as long as they have a total of 10 years of service at the district, with five years in administration, according to documents.

Castrovinci said those aspects of the contract were in place in the current agreement, and are consistent with the contracts of similar school districts.

The new agreement includes a provision that an administrator or principal would not be eligible for his or her 2 percent raise if he or she receives an unsatisfactory review, Castrovinci said.

It also allows administrators to be fully reimbursed for up to 12 college credits, according to documents.

A similar provision in the Easton Area Education Association teacher's contract proved to be surprisingly expensive for the district, officials said last year.

While the district budgeted $200,000 last year for college credit reimbursement credits for teachers, it actually ended up costing the district about $750,000.

Castrovinci said there is little concern that a similar scenario would occur with the administrators and principals because most of them already have master's degrees or administrative credentials and will be taking fewer classes as a result.