Mapp signs two-year teacher contract with step increases

Gov. Kenneth Mapp approved a two-year contract for public school teachers that included step increases, according to a Government House announcement published Oct. 22, 2018.

The agreement was reached on Oct. 12, 2018, between the Government of the Virgin Islands and the St. Croix and St. Thomas-St. John Federation of Teachers, AFT Locals 1825 and 1826, after weeks of negotiations.

Mapp signed the agreement on Oct. 19, 2018, during the 2018 TEACH conference at St. Croix Educational Complex High School. Lt. Gov. Osbert Potter and St. Croix Federation of Teachers President Rosa Soto-Thomas were present.

Government House said the contract provided step increases after what it described as an almost nine-year stall.

In the announcement, Mapp said his administration had focused on four teacher and government employee pay issues since taking office in January 2015: unpaid portions of the teachers' 2010 collective bargaining agreement, low entrance wages for new teachers, an 8% pay cut imposed on government employees in 2011, and retention pay for senior educators.

The announcement also said the administration had satisfied outstanding portions of the 2010 teachers' agreement in 2016, proposed legislation in 2017 to restore the 8% wage reduction, and increased base pay for new teachers and qualifying government employees by $10,000 on July 28, 2018, raising starting teacher pay to $44,000.

Mapp also said four public schools met federal guidelines for demolition and reconstruction: Arthur A. Richards Junior High School on St. Croix, Julius E. Sprauve School on St. John, Addelita Cancryn Junior High School on St. Thomas, and Charlotte Amalie High School on St. Thomas.

Official source: https://www.vi.gov/two-year-teacher-contract-finalized-mapp-potter-administration-fulfills-commitment-to-educators/