Hamilton Approves Handbook for Teachers

The Hamilton School Board gave approval Tuesday to a new employee handbook to replace rules formerly outlined in collective bargaining agreements with teachers.

With the new handbook, employment rules are created for teachers and benefits are outlined. The biggest change will be the new state law dictating how much teachers must pay towards their retirements, which will now cost them 5.8 percent of their salaries.

“Goals in establishing the handbook were to serve the interests of the district and its employees,” Superintendent Kathleen Cooke said in a press release.

Hamilton and other school districts across the state needed to create an employee handbook due law changes at the state level that strip teachers of the ability to collectively bargain and created rules making it difficult to retain a bargaining unit on an annual basis. Teachers unions remaining intact will no longer be able to bargain their benefits and salary increases are not allowed to rise above the rate of inflation.   

District administrators worked on developing the handbook throughout the summer to replace collective bargaining agreements that expired June 30.