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The Philadelphia Board of Education voted to ratify a new union contract Thursday for the 1,000-member Commonwealth Association of School Administrators Teamsters Local 502, or CASA, which represents school principals and other school staff.

The contract includes 3% annual across-the-board raises for the next four years and introduces five weeks of paid parental leave along with other bonuses and stipends. It also adjusts salary levels for several district positions, which CASA president Robin Cooper previously said is meant to create more equitable pay for staff with years of experience.

“We didn’t get everything we wanted, but we are leaving feeling heard,” Cooper told the board Thursday. “We are leaving with what we believe is a fair contract.”

CASA members had been working without a contract since the union’s previous agreement expired in August. Members showed up with posters at last month’s board meeting urging the board to finalize a new agreement.

Cooper said negotiations had “come a long way from two weeks ago” and it was “clear from actions over the weekend that we were heard loud and clear.” More than half of the union’s membership voted on the new contract Wednesday, she said, and ratified it with 97% of the vote.

Several board members said they welcomed the new contract and thanked union leaders and CASA members for their work.

But some board members noted that negotiations came during a difficult financial moment. The district had to borrow around $585 million to make up for delayed state funding during a four-month-long state budget impasse that ended last month.

“This year’s negotiations [were] in a very tough time,” said Board President Reginald Streater. “Late budgets, a lack of adequate funding, individuals who say that our babies don’t deserve to be invested in.”

The new contract also includes a $1,500 bonus for each member this year and again in 2028, expanded health benefits, and incentives for principals at “hard-to-staff” schools. It is retroactive to September and valid through August 2029.

The school board Thursday also voted to reelect Streater as president and to reelect board member Sarah-Ashley Andrews as vice president. Streater has been board president since December 2022. Andrews was first elected as board vice president last year.

The board of education voted Thursday to approve several other contracts. Those include:

  • A $3.7 million contract with Apple for computers and other devices for computer labs, staff, and administrative staff.
  • $2.5 million in contracts with other companies for technology hardware, software, and other supplies for the Office of Information Technology.
  • A $230,000 contract with the consulting firm AKRF to develop a plan for how Philadelphia’s schools could be more resilient to climate change, including how schools may prepare for extreme heat, flooding, poor air quality, and severe storms.
  • An additional $250,000 in the school district’s contract with Motorola Inc. for radios and other school safety communication equipment.

The board also approved a $43,390 contract with Mothers in Charge, a community group that works with Dobbins High School to respond to safety concerns and other school issues.

Last year, the first year the group was involved with school safety at Dobbins, the number of overall assaults at the school dropped by 46%, and the number of assaults resulting in injury dropped by 80%, according to board meeting documents.

Rebecca Redelmeier is a reporter at Chalkbeat Philadelphia. She writes about public schools, early childhood education, and issues that affect students, families, and educators across Philadelphia. Contact Rebecca at rredelmeier@chalkbeat.org.