JOHNSTOWN -- A Western Pennsylvania school district will pay 22 female teachers a total of $460,000 to settle their claims that they started at a lower pay scale than male teachers.

The Richland School District is not admitting wrongdoing in the proposed settlement filed yesterday. It must still be approved by a federal judge in Johnstown.

The female teachers claimed males hired with experience outside the district were more often given credit for that experience than females. They say 31 percent of male teachers are hired at rates above the minimum salary in the district, while only 15 percent of females are.

School Superintendent Tom Fleming says the district will implement a more specific policy on how a teacher's previous work experience is calculated for pay scale purposes.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.