Administrators in Brighton Schools Get New Contract

Brighton Area Schools' Administrators face salary freezes, higher contributions to health, dental and vision coverage as well as fewer vacation days, according to the details of their new contract with the district's school board.

Board members unanimously approved the one-year agreement at Monday night's meeting, which will save save the district $345,595, according to Greg Gray, superintendent of Brighton Area Schools said. The agreement took effect Tuesday.

The concessions were needed to help keep the district in line financially with its budgeted projections, Gray said.

"So long term fiscally, we're on solid ground as we move forward," he said.

The contract affects principals, assistant principals and program directors, who make between $60,173 to $16,118 a year. Some of the highlights of the agreement are:

• Tuition reimbursement, a perk for administrators, will be eliminated.
• Longevity stipends, an additional payment employees get for staying in the district for 15 or more years, will be cut in half.
• Administrators will pay about $3,000 more for health, dental, vision and prescription premiums for the year, according to Gray.
• Because all administrators were on different work schedules, they will all move to a 220 work day calendar, which means they will have shorter holiday breaks as roughly 20 days have been added to their annual schedule.
• Middle school and high school principals and assistant principals will undergo a title change. They will now be known as intermediate and assistant intermediate principals.

William Anderson, Board of Education trustee thanked Brighton Area Schools Administrators Association (BASSA) for agreeing to less vacation time.

"It's a big issue, when you're going from approximately 201 to 220 (work days), that's essentially four extra weeks those people are coming in for the same money," William Anderson, Board of Education trustee said. "You have to look at quality issues and I see that as a quality issue that is going to help our district in the long run."

BASSA could not be reached for comment.