In June 205, it seemed like the Clark County School District's announcement to freeze salaries for educators and administrators would blow the chances of fixing the district's teacher shortage any time soon.
Last week, however, the district and teacher's unions came to an agreement that will, according to the head of the Clark County Education Association, make Clark County one of the most competitive contract schedules in the nation.
Board members gave the green light on a $135.5 million dollar contract that includes raises for all 18,000 teachers. The additional salary increases and pay schedules will go into effect over the next nine months.
The salary freeze was supposed to address a more than $67 million dollar budget shortfall. District officials plan to now cut $11.5 million from a deferred maintenance budget and $6 million from a human resources and payroll management system.
John Vellardita, the executive director of the Clark County Education Association, joins KNPR to talk about the last seven months of negotiations.