School board approves 3-year contract for Hamilton County teachers

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / This was the first meeting of the new Hamilton County school board with 11 members, although member Joe Wingate was absent. The meeting took place in 2022 at the Hamilton County Schools central office meeting room on the Hickory Valley Road campus. The board Thursday agreed to a new three-year contract with its teachers. Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / This was the first meeting of the new Hamilton County school board with 11 members, although member Joe Wingate was absent. The meeting took place in 2022 at the Hamilton County Schools central office meeting room on the Hickory Valley Road campus. The board Thursday agreed to a new three-year contract with its teachers.

By Shannon Coan August 17, 2023 3 min read

After a year without a contract protecting their time, working conditions and benefits, Hamilton County teachers now have an agreement with the district.

The Hamilton County Board of Education voted unanimously to approve the three-year contract Thursday.

Hamilton County Education Association members emphasized the agreement’s language around working conditions and salary. It includes a 5% raise, which is above the minimum increase set by the state legislature earlier this year. The raise is already in effect.

“It just means that we’ve had a voice at the table,” Lori Cleveland, co-chair of the education association’s collective conferencing committee, said in an interview after the vote. “It meets one of the objectives of the Opportunity 2030 goal of Hamilton County Schools that every employee is valued.”