The Fleetwood School Board unanimously approved a three-year collective bargaining agreement with the Fleetwood Education Association, the union that represents the district’s teachers.
The previous five-year contract expired in June and the teachers had been working without a contract since then. The new deal is retroactive to July 1.
The teachers will receive a 2.2 percent increase in the second year and a 2.1 percent increase in the third. There is no increase in the first year.
Also, the teacher’s contribution to their health insurance will increase 1 percent in the second year, Business Manager Heidi Orth said Tuesday night.
The board voted 8-1 to issue bonds to net $4 million and refinance the $15 million 2009 bond issue simultaneously. By refinancing at the same time as the new borrowing the district can offset the interest costs of the new bond issue with the savings from the refinancing, said Kenneth A. Phillips, managing director of RBC Capital Markets, Lancaster.
The money will be used for the planned HVAC replacement at Fleetwood Middle School and Andrew Maier Elementary and lighting replacement at those schools plus Richmond Elementary.
The board also voted 8-1 to award contracts for the HVAC project to Matchline, Ephrata, $2.99 million, and for the lighting to Pagoda Electric, Reading, $1.09 million.
Board member Jason E. Valick voted no on both contracts.