Nome teachers have contracts

After almost a year of negotiations, the Nome Public School Board and the Nome Education Association came to a three-year Certified Negotiation Agreement, or CNA. The proposed agreement, which includes increased salaries by 3 percent in 2024, and 2 percent in 2025 and 2026, was approved by the Nome Public School Board last week in their regular meeting.
The changes will be retroactive for this school year, effective from July 1, 2024, until June 30, 2027.

Salary changes
The district follows a step system, which increases certified teachers’ salaries by a fixed amount based on semester hours and continuing education units. The agreement added an additional step to the salary schedule. Teachers who are employed as of the date the contract is ratified will receive one additional step on the salary scale.
There will also be an additional credit of $1,000 given to teachers in their second-year end of the “lane” on the scale or higher and who worked the full year.
More additions to the contract include acknowledging the previous education of international teachers when placing them on the salary scale, which did not previously apply to them.

Relocation
Full-time teachers hired from outside Nome will receive $3,000 for relocating, paid in their first paycheck of the year. The contract states that the relocation benefit may be utilized for visa costs for teachers from outside the United States under a visa program.
If a teacher doesn’t complete the entirety of their first contract year, 75 percent of the relocation stipend will be deducted from their final paycheck. If a teacher doesn’t return for a second year, 50 percent of their stipend will be deducted from their paycheck.

Coaching/activities
The coaching positions for Native Youth Olympics and middle school basketball, volleyball, wrestling, and cheerleading were increased from $2,050 to $2,300 per season. The Athletics Director salary was increased from $8,500 to $11,500.
Various activities leadership positions’ salaries were increased: $450 was contributed to the Drama Club Advisor. Other activities positions were added, including $1,750 for the Educators Rising coordinator.
Freshman and sophomore class advisors’ salaries were both reduced to $500 each. The band and choir director’s salary was reduced from $2,500 to $1,500, but that created a new paid position of Pep Band Director, who will receive $1,000.

Long time coming
This salary agreement has been long awaited and debated by the School Board and NEA. In the fall, upset by their lack of contracts months into the school year, teachers held a picket at Nome Elementary School, standing outside before school on October 31 with signs to alert the community to their plight. One month later, they conducted a sit in at a school board meeting, wearing “Red for Ed” and hoping to spark movement on the stalled negotiations.
The new contract will remain in place until the end of the 2027 school year, which is a typical length for an agreement of the type. For the past few years, the district and NEA have been signing one-year agreements.
Superintendent Jamie Burgess expressed her pleasure with the finalized agreement in an email to the Nugget and said she’s appreciative of the community support shown for Nome Public School’s teaching staff.