FAIRFIELD — Teachers will get a 5 percent pay increase retroactive to Sept. 1 following Monday's approval of a three-year contract between the Fairfield Board of Education and the Fairfield Classroom Teachers Association.

        The agreement increases the base salary for a first-year teacher with a bachelor's degree and no experience from $26,445 annually to $27,767. The previous salary was sixth-lowest among 40 school districts in Butler, Warren and Hamilton counties.

        “Salary was our main issue,” said Alexis Vafides, president of the teachers association.

        Superintendent Robert Farrell said the increased salary would make Fairfield Schools more attractive to teachers, particularly in areas such as math and science, where teachers are hard to find.

        “Those are tough areas for most schools, and where we were ranked (in salary) made it that much more difficult to fill positions,” Mr. Farrell said. “(The increase) will help us to continue to be competitive.”

        Fairfield achieved 20 of 27 performance standards on the state's 2002 report card released last month, based on last year's proficiency test scores. That was 17th-highest of the 40 districts in the three-county area.

        “Even after the increase, we're still going to be in the bottom half of the pay scales in this area,” Mr. Farrell said.

        Teachers have been without a contract since Sept. 1. The agreement provides a 5 percent pay increase this year and next year. Salary negotiations will be reopened for the contract's third year.

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