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Lake Ridge New Tech board reviews tentative 2025–26 teacher agreement; ratification set for next week
Summary
Board members heard a summary of a one-year tentative teacher contract for 2025–26 that includes an $82,000 pool distributed on a points system (evaluation and academic-need emphasis), a $375 early-literacy stipend, higher hourly pay for homebound and coverage, and procedural changes; the board will vote to ratify at a special meeting next week.
The Lake Ridge New Tech Schools Board on Nov. 13 opened and closed a public hearing on a tentative one-year teacher agreement for the 2025–26 school year and will consider ratifying the contract at a special meeting next week.
Adrienne Wilkerson presented the agreement, saying the district and its bargaining representative "have come to a tentative agreement on the teacher contract for the 2025 2026 contract period. It is a one-year agreement effective from July 1, 2025 to June 30th, 2026." He summarized key provisions including an $82,000 pool to be divided by a points system, a change in point distribution to emphasize academic need and early-literacy endorsement, and several pay and procedural adjustments.
Under the terms described by Wilkerson, approximately 69 staff members are eligible for the pool — an amount the presenter characterized as roughly a 2% increase on average. The point distribution allocates 90 points for evaluation outcomes and 10 points for academic-need criteria (STEM, career-technical education, foreign language and similar classifications), with a 100-point maximum. Teachers who earn an early-literacy endorsement will receive $375 added to base pay if they show proof of the endorsement by Jan. 1.
The agreement raises homebound and coverage pay to $40 per hour (up from $26 per hour in the previous agreement) and includes summer-school pay at the same rate. The contract adds a grievance level three that allows an appeal to the school board if level two is unsatisfactory, and it adds five elementary team lead positions to the extracurricular compensation schedule. The VIVA contribution for eligible retirees was increased to $10,000 per year for those already eligible before June 30, 1995; teachers who retire at 55 or older with at least 15 years at Lake Ridge may enroll in group health coverage but must pay 100% of the premium.
Wilkerson also summarized the post-increase salary range, which he gave as $45,000 to $86,000.
During the public-comment portion, a speaker who identified themselves in the transcript as Gio praised the negotiating process and expressed appreciation for district negotiators. The board then voted to close the public hearing; the transcript records the motions to open and to close passing unanimously in recorded votes of three yays and zero nays.
The board did not ratify the agreement on Nov. 13. Superintendent Dr. Kman told the board to expect a vote to ratify the contract at a special meeting next week, at which time the board will take formal action.
What happens next: The special meeting scheduled for next week will include a ratification vote and a staffing-study report; members and the public may attend or view the broadcast, the superintendent said.
