After 33 years teaching English at Andover High School, town resident Kathy Zalla said she knows how important it is for a public school system to employ quality educators.

Having interviewed prospective teachers during the hiring process, she also believes she knows how to do it.

"You have to attract them with pay packages," said Zalla, who will retire this spring. "You've got to have some kind of incentive, because the Lexingtons are scooping them up, and the Newtons."

Andover teachers now have new pay packages under a three-year contract agreement signed March 27 by the Andover Education Association, which represents teachers in town.

In total, Andover teachers will receive a 8.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment was awarded over the three years. All Andover teachers will receive 1.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment during this 2007-08 school year.

In addition, all school and town employees beginning one of their first 14 years in town receive a so-called step increase. Next fiscal year, approximately 57 percent of Andover's teaching staff will move up a step, and receive between 2.3 and 6.8 percent more.

Also in fiscal year 2009, approximately 16 percent of Andover's teaching staff will receive a salary-enhancing track increase, pay raises given to teachers furthering their education toward a higher-level degree.

School and town employees with 16 or more years of experience receive annual longevity salary enhancements. Teachers can receive between 1 and 3 percent extra.

No changes to teachers' step and track benefit schedules were collectively bargained during the most recent round of negotiations, which began in January 2007 and concluded after 22 meetings between the Andover Education Association and School Committee.

The three-year pact retroactively covers from Sept. 1, 2007 up to Aug. 31, 2010.

"Virtually every (teacher) contract in the country has step and track provisions, or provisions tied to years of service," said School Committee member Deb Silberstein, adding that the contract is "very well within statewide settlements."

"Average settlements statewide have been nine and 10 percent," said Silberstein.

Average teacher

The average Andover teacher has taught in town for nine years.

Previously-bargained step increases call for a teacher with the town-average of nine years experience to receive a step pay increase of between 3 to 6.6 percent, depending on their level of education.

For a teacher with the average nine years of work experience, advancement of their masters degree will activate an additional track increase ranging from between a 2.3 to 6.7 percent bump in salary.

A total of 445 out of 551 teachers in town possess masters degrees (for a look at the charts outlining step and track increases for teachers log onto andovertownsman.com).

Step and track

According to Selectman Brian Major, the average teacher step increase translates into a 4.1 percent salary increase.

The average teacher track increase, translates into a 5.5. percent raise, he said. Again, step and track raises are available both for school and town employees.

"You hear the COLA; you don't hear the rest," said Major, referring to step, track and longevity benefits. "That's not giving the full value of the situation. It's important that we announce the full benefit package."

Major said the new teacher contract comes at a time when some private sector companies aren't giving pay raises or are cutting back on employee costs altogether.

"Private and public (sector) do not have to be equal," said Major. "But it needs to be tied to what you can afford."

In recent weeks Major has criticized the new teacher contract for not being affordable in future years.

According to former School Committee member David Samuels, during the third year of the deal, a $755,000 deficit will be created.

"Education does cost," said Andover Education Association President Tom Meyers, a social studies teacher at the high school. "The engine that drives the wheel of education is a professional teaching staff."

The new teacher contract contributes only a fraction of the fiscal difficulties facing Andover in future years, according to Finance Committee Chairwoman Joanne Marden.

"We know that looking ahead to 2010 that our deficit grows a lot," said Marden. "There's a piece of that: what's needed for the teachers' contract. It's not the whole problem."

Meyers said track increases, which average $1,500, add incentive for teachers to further their educations. Under state law, teachers must continuously work toward recertification, he said.

"The steps and the tracks are existent in other contracts," said Meyers. "It encourages professional development for teachers."

As for step increases, Meyers referred to them as a cost-saving device for the School Department and noted how public safety employees have only five step increases in their contracts before reaching their maximum base salary level.

"Obviously that's an advantage to the public safety system," said Meyers.

"It's really a deferred payment," said Meyers of the nature of step increases. "You're paying them less than perhaps what the job is worth. You're slowing down the process by having more steps. It's a savings to the town."

The School Department has 972 employees. Among those are 413 non-special-education classroom teachers, 134 special-education teachers and 220 teaching assistants.

John Berube, a resident and librarian at Andover High School, agreed with Zalla that Andover is competing for teachers with the leading school districts in the state.

"People are going to gravitate toward the districts that pay more," said Berube. "And if we want to remain competitive with those districts, I think we ought to pay salaries that are similar. We have a very good school system in Andover."

With 10 years of work experience, eight of them in Andover, Berube has two Masters degrees, in history and library science. Having earned the second-highest possible track increase, Berube said he made roughly $65,000 last year.

Like Berube, Zalla, who has worked at the high school since 1975, also has earned the second-highest possible track increase, known as Masters+75, which is below only the doctorate level.

Zalla said she broke the $75,000 salary plateau in 2004.

The recipient of additional longevity payments since roughly 2000, Zalla said that if Andover is going to compare its students' test scores with other leading school districts in the state, it should also compare teacher salary figures.

"If you're going to compare it for one thing, you need to compare it to the other," she said. "Because we work really hard."