After 23 months of negotiations, teachers in the South Allegheny School District have reached a contract settlement with the school board that will give teachers annual raises that average 2 percent.

The new four-year contract is retroactive to July 2008 and runs through June 30, 2012.

The agreement calls for teachers to contribute to their health insurance premiums for the first time. Retroactive to July 1, 2009, teachers will pay $10 per month for individual coverage and $20 per month for family coverage. In years three and four of the contract, teachers will pay 3.5 percent of their health insurance premiums.

The new pact, which was approved by the teachers union and school board yesterday, also provides for longer school days and a longer school year. Students will now attend school 183 days instead of 182, and the school day will be lengthened by five minutes in the 2010-11 school year, and an additional four minutes in 2011-12.

South Allegheny employs 131 teachers and has 1,600 students.

By the end of the four-year pact, the average teacher's salary will rise to $50,600.

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