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Collingswood board adopts three‑year teachers contract with retroactive pay and raises
Summary
The Collingswood Board of Education approved a three‑year collective bargaining agreement for certificated staff that includes average annual raises (about 3.9%), step‑guide compression, new stipends and retroactive pay for 2024–25. Board members debated administrative staffing and budget optics before approving the pact by roll call.
The Collingswood Board of Education on a roll‑call vote approved a three‑year collective bargaining agreement for certificated staff that covers the 2023–24, 2024–25 and 2025–26 school years and provides retroactive pay for the prior school year.
Roger, who presented the agreement to the full board, summarized the financial terms and said the deal includes “average 3.89% per year over the 3 years of the contract.” He also said the district has set aside a collective $10,000 for the current year and $5,000 for the next year specifically earmarked for administrative assistants and described additional one‑time and recurring increases for extracurricular stipends, mentoring bonuses and referral bonuses.
The contract shortens step guides for certificated staff (reducing the years to reach the top of the salary guide) and increases starting salaries for teachers. Presenter Roger told the board that because the agreement covers the prior school year, eligible CEA members — including those who retired during 2024–25 — will receive retroactive pay once payroll is processed: “the idea is that it would…go out Friday as 1 lump sum,” he said.
Board discussion touched on optics, retention and spending priorities. Some trustees questioned adding non‑student‑facing leadership roles amid a recent tax increase, while administrators said the hire in question replaces retiring leadership and that overall administrative costs will decline when retirement‑driven vacancies are accounted for. Dr. Seltzer and other trustees argued the new compensation structure and step‑guide compression will help recruit and retain teachers.
The board voted to approve agenda items 15.01–15.03, which included the CEA agreement. Roll call recorded affirmative votes from the members present; the contract was adopted and the administration said the business office has prepared retroactive payments for distribution to eligible staff.
What’s next: The administration will post the contract documents and the department will process retroactive payroll. Any procedural follow‑ups, such as distributing the retro checks and updating pay scales in HR systems, were described as business‑office functions to be completed in the coming days.
