Briefly in the news

-- Deirdre Newman

Teachers resoundingly approved a tentative agreement last Friday that

will boost their salaries by 6% this year and 3% next year.

The vote was 943 to 14 in favor of the agreement, said Linda Mook,

president of the Newport-Mesa Teachers’ Federation.

“I’m feeling elated,” Mook said. “I think it’s a positive step in

helping Newport-Mesa attract and retain quality teachers.”

But before the teachers will see the extra income in their paychecks,

the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Trustees has to sign

off on the agreement.

Trustee Wendy Leece said the board likely will approve the deal at a

special meeting on Dec. 4.

“It’s a win-win situation all around,” Leece said. “It’s been the

board’s goal for quite some time to bring our teachers up to the average

of the other unified school districts and by giving them this raise, we

hopefully are close to that.”

Other highlights of the agreement include requiring teachers to be

appropriately credentialed to teach English-language learners, a

catastrophic leave program for employees who have a serious illness or

injury, and restructuring of the extra duty pay program for teachers who

are involved in after-school activities.