The Smyrna Educators Association is not legally allowed to strike, but teachers were protesting meetings last September with black shirts and signs that read “worth more than 0%”, referring to the lack of pay increase being offered by the district.
In October, the Smyrna Board of Education offered a statement arguing it would be “fiscally irresponsible” for them to offer pay raises without sustainable funding.
Now, after months of mediation and discussion, the Board is agreeing to increases in teacher annual pay which scale higher based on teacher experience.
“The Board of Education of the Smyrna School District and Smyrna Educators Association, Inc. are pleased to announce that they have agreed upon and ratified a Memorandum of Agreement to resolve the financial impasse that led the parties to request binding interest arbitration before the Public Employment Relations Board. They both thank the PERB for its hard work in helping the parties reach an agreement that serves both parties fairly." said both parties in a joint statement released following the agreement's signing.
A teacher with 1-5 years of experience gets a raise of $150 towards their annual pay, while a teacher with over 26 years of experience would receive a raise of $420 dollars. Those raises, according to the agreement, cannot exceed 4% for any employee.
In Delaware, the state pays 70% of a teachers salary, and districts pay the rest. Under the new pay schedule, a first year teacher with a Bachelor’s Degree would be paid around $57,000 - with the district covering $17,000 a year.
The agreement mentions several times the District's desire for unity with its staff, and the District's severe need for a referendum in the near future,
The SEA and the Smyrna School District acknowledged the district's financial circumstances in the joint statement,
"The parties look forward to a successful operating revenue referendum in the near future and will work collaboratively towards this goal. The passage of an operating referendum will aid greatly in staff retention and recruitment, as well as educational programming and opportunities, benefitting our students for countless years to come.”
The agreement notes all wage increases will become the new base pay for any incoming teachers, but there will be no increase to the pay matrix in FY2027.
