On Thursday, Jan. 19, Lincoln Public School’s (LPS) faculty union, the Lincoln Education Association (LEA), voted to approve the tentative agreement with LPS for the 2024-25 school year. The proposed agreement includes a 4.55% increase in the compensation package for teachers. This will provide a raise for preexisting LPS employees as well as an increase in the starting salary for new teachers. 

“I was excited as someone who has been in the district for 20 years,” Mrs. Marla Payant said. “I’m also excited for the new teachers who would be starting out and what that bump would mean for people entering our district.”

The agreement also changes how teacher planning will work. Currently, teachers collaborate in what’s called Professional Learning Communities (PLC) designed to ensure they are meeting the needs of students. High school teachers are provided each Tuesday, while middle and elementary teachers receive one Tuesday at the end of the month as early dismissal times as PLC time. Teachers will now instead be provided with six days throughout the year dedicated to professional development.

“I think the PLC days were helpful initially, but I think we’ve outgrown them so it’s time to move on,” Mr. Matt Heimes said. “I think the best thing is the professional development stuff. It’s almost impossible to sponsor an after-school activity and get your professional development done.”

This change to teacher planning will also have an impact on students. The six provided days will be non-student days, thus giving students more days outside of class while costing them early dismissal on Tuesday.

“I don’t really like it, but I’ve heard it’s good for some teachers,” sophomore Macy Gonderigner said. “It’s not so good for us because we definitely need PLC days as days to chill.” 

The agreement is still not fully approved. The Lincoln Board of Education still has to vote to approve the contract before it goes formally into place. The vote will take place at the next board meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 13.