Fort Wayne Community Schools and the Fort Wayne Education Association have agreed on a two-year contract that compensates teachers equitably for education and years of experience and continues the payment of stipends through the federal Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) grant.

A tentative agreement was reached Wednesday, Sept. 9. Teachers ratified the agreement last week, and the FWCS Board of School Trustees approved the agreement today.

The new contract covers only wages and wage-related benefits as stipulated by state law. The law also limits wage increases to teachers evaluated as effective or highly effective. FWCS is still in the process of finalizing teacher evaluations for 2014-15 as state data is not yet available.

Under the new contract for 2015-16, eligible teachers who are currently paid below the average for teachers with equal education and years of experience will be brought up to the average. Eligible teachers who are at or above the average will receive a 1 percent salary increase. In 2016-17, eligible teachers will receive an additional 1 percent salary increase. The starting salary for teachers remains at $37,000 for teachers with a Bachelor’s Degree and $41,000 for teachers with a Master’s Degree.

In addition, because of the TIF grant, effective and highly effective teachers will continue to be eligible for stipends beyond their base pay as follows. For each year, effective teachers will receive a $2,000 stipend; highly effective teachers will receive a $2,500 stipend.