ARTICLE 24: SALARY DETERMINATION AND PROVISIONS

A. Effective the 2007-2008 school year, the LEA and the LSC agree to increase the Unit A salary schedule by 2.75%. The parties agree that the formula in which the 2.75% is applied to the Unit A salary schedule may include applying a flat dollar amount prior to the percentage as long as the amount does not exceed a 2.75% increase in total.

B. The LEA and the LSC agree to re-open salary negotiations during FY 05. In those negotiations, the negotiated standards by which compensation packages are evaluated will apply: the total compensation figure at the minimum and maximum of the Bachelors, Masters, and Masters +30 columns will be at or greater than the median when compared to ten similar communities located east of Route 495.
Total compensation is defined as the sum of the following: (1) the salary figure at the points described above, (2) the longevity figure, if any, at 30 years in the system, and (3) the added value, if any, of the health care benefit over the statutory minimum of 50%.
The ten communities were determined by a comparative analysis of the following legitimate criteria: (1) the percentage of students going on to four year colleges, (2) standardized test scores, (3) class size, (4) average per pupil expenditure, and (5) the salary maximums and minimums on the Bachelors, Masters, and Masters +30 salary columns.
1. Acton - Acton/Boxborough (blended), 6. Sudbury - Lincoln/Sudbury (blended)
2. Belmont 7. Wellesley
3. Brookline 8. Weston
4. Concord - Concord/Carlisle (blended) 9. Westwood,
5. Newton 10. Winchester

C. Placement for new hires will be credited at full experience up to a maximum placement on step 10 (9 years maximum credit) for pre-professional status staff.

D. Credit for movement from one column to another must have prior approval of the system. Salary increments and/or increases will be granted only upon the specific recommendations of the building Principals and the approval of the Superintendent.
1. Professional staff members must provide the Human Resources Office with appropriate evidence of successful completion of the 15 credits needed to move to the next salary column. Once the evidence of completion has been received by Human Resources, the salary adjustment will be made on the first pay day in September or on the first pay day in February.
2. In-service credits are awarded by the Lexington Public Schools for completion of approved professional development activities. In-service credits count toward movement from one salary column to the next. No more than 6 of the 15 credits required for such movement can be in-service credits. In-service credits in excess of the 6 allowed between salary columns can be applied to future column movements. E.g., a professional staff member on the M+15 column, who earns 9 in-service credits, can apply 6 of those credits for movement to the M+30 column and 3 for future movement to the M+45 column. The instructor of a Lexington in-service course earns the same in-service credit as the participants, but only for the first time the course is offered by that instructor. All professional development activities offered for a particular number of in-service credits will be clearly designated as such when listed in any publication for the professional staff. Notification of acceptance into an in-service activity is the equivalent of the “prior approval” requirement of this Article. Upon successful completion of an in-service offering, the in-service credits will be automatically applied to a professional staff member’s record. It is, however, the professional staff member’s responsibility to confirm that the credits have been applied

E. Staff members leaving or entering the employ of the Lexington Public Schools at any time during the school year shall be paid at the rate of 1/184th of their annual salary for each work day for which they are entitled to pay. A staff member under contract to the Lexington Public Schools who finds that he/she may not work the full year, shall immediately notify the Superintendent in writing, giving such details as the Superintendent may require.

F. Part time (morning) Kindergarten teachers shall be compensated at seventy percent (70%) of the salary of a full time teacher at the same salary schedule placement.

G. Those staff members presently receiving leadership awards shall continue to receive them for the duration of their proposals pursuant to the terms of the 1976-1978 LEA/LSC Contract. In addition, staff currently receiving compensation under the old leadership plan (prior to the 1976-1978 LEA/SC Contract) will continue to receive compensation as described in that plan. Staff receiving the $1798 stipend for Special Class Teacher (one working in a substantially separate classroom and hired before July 1, 1984) will continue to receive this amount.

H. The Department Head and Coordinator school year will be 196 days. Department Heads and Coordinators will receive a salary equal to their base salary on the teachers’ salary schedule, plus an additional 12% of that base salary. The $164 per capita stipend, frozen at June 2001 amounts, is eliminated for Department Heads and Coordinators hired after June 30, 2002. All Department Heads and Coordinators hired before that date are grandfathered and will continue to receive that fixed stipend amount. The department size stipend is eliminated for all Department Heads and Coordinators hired after June 30, 2003, but remains in effect for those Department Heads and Coordinators hired between June 30, 2002 and June 30, 2003. The formula for the calculation of the Department Head/Coordinator per diem amount is 1/196 of the base salary, exclusive of the per capita or department size stipend.
Department Heads, Department Chairs, and Coordinators are expected to seek feedback on their performance from the members of their respective departments no later than February 28 by using an instrument based on the Curriculum Leader performance standards. The results of this feedback will be shared with their Supervisors, who may request the feedback be tied to the Curriculum Leader’s goals.
At the beginning of each month, Coordinators will publish for principals and staff a schedule of their visits to the elementary and middle schools. Department Heads, Department Chairs, and Coordinators will attend all related curriculum meetings as designated by the Superintendent or Supt.’s designee.
Department Chairs in grades 6-8 will be released from one class to perform their Department Chair duties. Department Heads in grades 9-12 will teach between 0.33 FTE and 0.50 FTE of a 1.0 FTE position.
The Department Head and Coordinator positions may be posted every 3 years for those hired after June 30, 2003. Current Department Heads and Coordinators are grandfathered and not subject to this possibility. Department Chair positions may be posted every 2 years upon the joint recommendation of the Principal and the Superintendent’s designee.

I. The School Committee recognizes the importance of the valuable contribution that nurses make to the school system. Should the fiscal conditions permit, the School Committee intends to provide nurse staffing consistent with state recommendations. Nurses employed by the Lexington public Schools shall be certified or eligible for certification according to the standards set by the Massachusetts Department of Education.

J. All certified staff shall have an option of choosing twenty-one (21) equal payments or twenty-six (26) equal payments. The first check will be paid by mid-September, the second check issued no later than October 1. Thereafter, wages shall be paid every two weeks. The final check will be issued by the last teacher scheduled day in June. It is understood that the final two (2) weeks payment for the last period in June may be held until July 15 to make adjustments for any late term absence. When a holiday falls on a payday, payment shall be made on the day preceding. When a payday occurs on a holiday, payment shall be made on the closest workday before or after.
All professional staff members covered by this contract shall be eligible for direct deposit of paychecks. Professional staff members employed in programs funded by the Town of Lexington such as summer school, work-shops, etc., shall be paid every two (2) weeks in equal installments equaling the total sum of the position during the actual work period. Professional staff members employed in programs not funded by the Town of Lexington shall be paid as soon as practicable.
Any professional staff member whose assignment requires travel to more than one building shall be reimbursed for such travel at IRS rate. This reimbursement will be equal to the IRS figure as determined for each calendar year. Travel outside of Lexington will be reimbursed at the Lexington Town Employee rate.

K. Members of the bargaining unit shall receive longevity payment as follows (a professional staff member hired prior to February 1 shall be given credit for the full year.):.

Beginning at year 10: $700
Beginning at year 15: $800
Beginning at year 20: $900
Beginning at year 25: $1000
Beginning at year 30: $2500

1. Professional staff members with fifteen completed years of service in Lexington may elect longevity payment of $3,300 per year for three, consecutive years that follow acceptance under this provision. Longevity payments specified above and any sick leave buy back specified in article 18 section F will cease upon acceptance under this portion of Article 24. Bargaining unit members will be entitled to the entire sum of $9,900 regardless of date of termination. Payment will continue until the remaining credit is exhausted if an entitled unit member is terminated.
2. Application is required and immediate placement is not insured, since the system retains the right to set budget limits; however, the system will accept no fewer than 25 applicants. Members electing but not immediately placed under the provisions of paragraph 1 above will be carried forward to the next school year and placed at the top of the list.
3. In the event that an abnormally high number of members elect this option in a specific year, the following sequence of events will take place:
a. A request will go to all members who have elected this option seeking members willing to delay the start of this option to the next school year. Members will have five (5) school days to respond to this request.
b. If a budgetary problem still exists after voluntary delays are sought, members electing this option will start in order of seniority, with the most senior being placed first and the remainder starting in the next school year.
c. No bargaining unit member will be denied immediate placement on the optional longevity schedule specified in paragraph 1 above for any reason other than specified in paragraph 3, sections a and b.
4. The LEA and LSC will annually review this Article prior to March 1st to increase, decrease, or leave unchanged the longevity payment of $3,300. Consensus is required for a change to become effective.

L. Annually, the LEA President, the Chair of the LSC, and the Superintendent will sign a Memorandum of Agreement which lists the names and dollar amounts of any Extra-Duty Stipends which were paid to professional staff members during the school year but which were not previously listed on the Extra-Duty Stipend page of the contract

M. Extra-Duty Stipends: The creation of new, stipended activities is subject to the availability of funds. Annually by March 1, the School Committee will determine in consultation with the LEA whether any funds will be available for this purpose. If funds will be made available, the following process will apply:
1. Proposals for new extra-duty positions will be submitted simultaneously to the appropriate Principal, and to the Extra-Duty Stipend Committee which is comprised of the Director of Human Resources, the LEA President, another administrator, and another LEA member. The proposal must be a detailed plan of the activity, which includes a rationale (how the activity will benefit Lexington students and how it complements curricula) and a completed Stipend Data Sheet (as found in the LEA/LSC Contract, Appendix C.
2. Upon the approval of the principal, the EDS Committee will review proposals and make recommendations to the Superintendent, who will make the final decisions and report to the School Committee by May 30. No more than 4 new activities will be approved for the following school year. In its deliberations for the 3 school years following this agreement, the EDS Committee must give additional weight to proposals from the elementary schools in order to address the elementary/secondary extra-duty stipend imbalance.
3. In its first year, a newly created and approved extra-duty activity will be assigned a $400 stipend. The activity leader must comply with all aspects of the Extra-Duty Stipend Accountability System as found in the LEA/LSC Contract, Appendix C.
4. In order to continue for a second year, the activity must go through the same approval process as outlined for year 1. The stipend for the second year may be increased up to $750 upon the recommendation of the committee and approval of the superintendent.
5. Prior to June 1 of the second year, the appropriate Principal and the Superintendent will decide to either terminate or continue the activity. If the decision is to continue, the LEA and the School Committee must agree upon the final stipend amount for the activity, which will then be added to the Extra-Duty Stipend list in the LEA/LSC Contract.
6. The EDS Committee will also serve as an advisory committee to the superintendent with regard to the cessation of a stipended activity. The Committee will develop criteria for making such recommendations