Montgomery County Teachers Ratify New Contract

ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) -- Teachers in Montgomery County have ratified a new contract that will provide raises totaling 5.5 percent over three years, but it also requires educators to pay more for health insurance.

The Washington Post reports the contract ratified Wednesday mirrors the financial terms negotiated with other school employee organizations. School officials say the total cost for new compensation for the system's 22,000 employees totals $35.8 million.

The new contract for teachers includes a new initiative to provide incentives for high-performing teachers to work in 57 high-poverty schools. Another initiative is supposed to begin adding student feedback into teacher evaluations, bring teacher feedback into principal evaluations and add principal feedback into associate superintendent evaluations.

Teacher salaries will increase 1.5 percent in November, 2 percent in 2015 and 2 percent in 2016.

Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com