Wayne-Westland presents 3-year tentative teacher contract with retro pay and stepped raises

Wayne-Westland Community School District staff presented a proposed three-year contract intended to raise pay and retain staff, saying the agreement includes immediate retroactive pay once the board ratifies the agreement.

The district outlined a 5% base raise in year one, 4% in year two and 3% in year three. District staff estimated the cost to the district at about $6.2 million for the first year, $5.6 million in year two and $4.2 million in year three. "The whole thought behind that we were negotiating was to provide a contract that was gonna be, competitive," the assistant superintendent for human resources said. "The whole thought was we wanted to retain and attract people to the district."

Board members were told the contract also moves every eligible employee one step on the salary scale each year and is retroactive "so the moment we ratify the contract, the teachers are gonna get their money from the previous months that we were negotiating." District staff said the contract includes expanded longevity payments, a new one-time "loyalty" bonus, changes to extra-duty ("rider") calculations and the…