2014 CONNCAN TEACHER CONTRACT DATABASE

WHATS NEW AND TRENDING IN

CONNECTICUT TEACHER CONTRACTS
For the third year in a row, ConnCAN has released its Teacher and Administrator
Contract Database, a comprehensive collection of the collective bargaining agreements, or
contracts, for teachers and school administrators from throughout the state. Below,
we highlight new features in this years database, as well as trends found in teacher
contracts that were renegotiated for 2014.
For more information, please visit www.contracts.conncan.org.

Whats new: What did ConnCAN add to the database this year?
Our website is now more user friendly and easier to navigate. Please visit the website, www.contracts.conncan.org, to
see the improved database, including advanced search features, videos, graphs, and more.

Spotlight: Key findings from this years new questions

Salary: On average, a teachers salary increases by $2,367 for each additional year of experience.
Collaborative planning: Nearly 16% of contracts specify that teachers are
granted time in addition to their individual release time to plan collaboratively
with other teachers (28 districts).
Sick leave bank: About 35% of districts offer an option in which teachers can

Does the district provide extra

pay for curriculum writing?

bank or store unused sick leave (62 districts). Generally, teachers who opt
into these programs donate a specific number of their sick days to the bank
each year, and then may withdraw from the bank extra sick days once they

37.5%

have used all of their own leave.

60%

Evaluations and Teacher Transfers: During a district wide layoff, teachers

may be transferred to other positions rather than being terminated. Teacher

2%

evaluation (or performance) is a factor in deciding which teachers are

transferred in only 31% of districts.
Yes

No

N/A

Whats trending: What changed in this years new contracts?

Extended Workday & Preparation Time
Nearly 20% of the new contracts changed the length of their teacher workday for at least one school level. Most
of these changes extended the workday or added new provisions related to teacher workday length.
T
 he greatest workday length increases were in Monroe and Old Saybrook at 40 and 45 additional minutes,
respectively. Their workdays are now both close to the statewide average at 7 hours and 13 minutes.
Overall, the longest teacher workday is eight hours (Wilton, LEARN, and New Beginnings Family Academy),
while Hamden has the shortest teacher workday at 6 hours and 29 minutes.
Almost 1 in 4 new contracts either increased teacher preparation time or added new provisions related to
preparation time at least one school level.

Whats New and Trending in Connecticut Teacher Contracts visit: www.contracts.conncan.org.

 T
 he greatest change was in Simsbury, where elementary teachers now have an additional 60 minutes of weekly
preparation time per week, for a total of 210 minutes.
Out of the remaining districts that report elementary preparation time in minutes per week, the highest
reported is 300 minutes (Weston, Woodbridge), while the lowest reported is 100 minutes (New Hartford).
Salary Schedule Changes
T
 his year, new contracts were more likely to impose salary step freezes
than to remove them.

Is there a salary step freeze in

the 2014-2015 school year?

1 9 of the new contracts enacted step freezes for the 2014-2015 school
year, while 9 districts lifted existing step freezes from the previous year.
28%
S
 tatewide, 27% of districts have reported a salary step freeze for the
2014-2015 school year.

72%

A
 bout 1 in 3 new contracts increased the number of years it takes for
a teacher to reach the top salary level.
F
 or example, in Coventry it will now take teachers 21 years to reach the
top salary level, provided there are no step freezes. Previously this
number was 14 years.

Yes

No

N/A

O
 n average, it takes teachers 14 years to reach the top salary level with no
step freezes. This highest number reported is 24 years (Old Saybrook), while the lowest number is 9 years (East
Hampton, Simsbury).
Shifts in Additional Compensation
M
 any districts took action to reduce or remove longstanding and often costly payout provisions such as annual
longevity bonuses and payout for unused sick leave upon retirement.
O
 ver 10% of districts added conditions to either their longevity or sick
leave payout provisions that state these benefits will not be available to
those hired after a specific date; most often, it is the start date of the
contract.

Does the district provide tuition

reimbursement?

Nearly 1/4 (23%) of new contracts increased the funding for their tuition
reimbursement, or added such a program through this contract.

28%

B
 loomfield increased their maximum reimbursement for teachers from
$1,200 to $2,000 per year. Region 7, Coventry, and Shelton increased
districtwide totals by at least $4,000, while Monroes district maximum
increased by $10,000.

72%

S
 tatewide, nearly three-quarters of districts offer tuition reimbursement to
teachers; on average, districts offer payment for 60% the cost of tuition.
Yes

No

N/A

Benefits and Insurance

O
 ver 60% of new contracts indicate now offer High Deductible Health Plans
with a Health Savings Account (HDHP/HSA) as their primary health plan.
1 6% of new contracts also included increases in life insurance coverage; for example, Pomfret doubled their life
insurance coverage for teachers over the previous contract ($25,000 to $50,000).
Including Evaluation in Contracts
F
 our districts: Columbia, Stonington, Milford, Danbury, added evaluation provisions. This brings the total number
of districts that include information about their performance evaluations to 11.

www.conncan.org (203) 772-4017 85 Willow St. New Haven CT 06511