Board approves two-year teachers' contract that raises labor costs by roughly $1.66 million over two years

The Contoocook Valley Regional School Board approved a two-year collective bargaining agreement Monday that the district said will add $853,000 to payroll costs in year one and $806,000 in year two.

Board member Jim Fredericksen, who moved the motion, told the board the parties "shook hands" on the agreement and that the union ratified the contract earlier in the day. "I make the motion that we approve the proposed 2 year agreement," Fredericksen said before asking for a second. The board approved the contract by voice vote.

The agreement was negotiated over several months, the board said, and had been discussed during a recess earlier in the meeting after the union ratified the proposed terms. A board member said that, if the board approved the agreement, it would be carried as a warrant article on the March ballot for voter approval.

Superintendent and administrative staff described the vote as an approval of the negotiated terms; no additional details about salary schedules, steps, or benefit changes were presented on the record at the meeting. The board did not provide a roll-call tally in the public portion; the motion passed following a voice vote.

The board also noted timing and next steps: if the board approves the contract, the district will place a warrant article before voters in March to enact the agreement as required. Board members thanked members of both the district's and the union's negotiating teams for their work during talks.

The contract vote was one of several budget-related items the board said it is still working through as it prepares warrant articles and draft budgets for presentation to voters in the coming weeks.