Source: DSEA
Camden/Wyoming – Teachers, specialists, and paraprofessionals in the Caesar Rodney School District celebrated a major union victory Tuesday night when their school board approved a new contract to raise pay and improve working conditions for more than 1,000 public school educators.
The new labor agreement – which follows the district’s first successful referendum since 2015 – places Caesar Rodney at the top of Kent County’s best-paying traditional school districts for most classroom educators.
“This is a huge win for our union, our district, our students, and our community.” said Caesar Rodney Education Association President Jared Lelito, a math/special education teacher in the district for 15 years.
“Public education is a team sport, and we are deeply grateful to the hundreds of loyal parents, neighbors, and community members who voted in February to fund a major investment in our students and our public schools,” he said. “We also want to thank Superintendent Dr. Corey Miklus and his staff for keeping their word, partnering with our union, and bargaining in good faith.”
The Caesar Rodney School Board’s vote to approve a new, 4-year contract with CREA on Tuesday came just days after union members overwhelmingly ratified the tentative deal a full year before the previous contract was set to expire.
“On behalf of the entire Caesar Rodney Board of Education, I am proud of the collaborative work that made this agreement possible,” said Caesar Rodney School Board President Jessica Marelli. “This contract reflects our shared commitment to attracting and retaining outstanding educators while continuing to provide Caesar Rodney students with the high-quality education they deserve. We are grateful to our community for their support and to CREA and district leadership for working together in a positive and student-centered way.”
In Delaware, roughly 70% of educator pay is funded by the state, while the remaining 30% is supported by local property taxes. Wage increases negotiated between local unions and their school districts exclusively cover the local share of educators’ pay.
For CR teachers and instructional staff, the new contract includes a 1% locally funded pay increase in the first year, plus on-scale bonuses ranging from $300 to $2,400, depending on educational attainment and years of experience. Teachers and instructional staff will then receive a 2% annual pay increase on the local share of their salaries over three years. Altogether, those increases will raise the locally funded pay for CR teachers and instructional staff by 14-25%.
CR paraprofessionals, meanwhile, will receive a 2% locally funded pay increase in the first year, plus on-scale bonuses ranging from $150-$250, depending on years of experience. Paras will then receive a 2% annual pay increase on the local share of their salaries over three years. Together, those increases will raise the locally funded pay for CR paraprofessionals by more than 8-10%
The new contract also includes added work time for special education teachers to process IEPs and other paperwork, increased tuition reimbursement for teachers and paraprofessionals, $250 stipends for retiring paraprofessionals, and enhanced collaboration between staff and administrators regarding in-service days, professional development, and inclement weather make up days, among other revisions.
“Everyone wins when communities, district administrators, union educators work together to deliver the very best for our students,” said Stephanie Ingram, president of the Delaware State Education Association.
“While the collaboration between CREA and the Caesar Rodney School District shows that great things are still possible in some of our fastest growing communities, Delaware desperately needs education funding reform at the state and local level so every student has an opportunity to learn and succeed, regardless of where they live,” she said. “Our union is committed to working with parents, lawmakers, and administrators to make that happen.”
CREA is one of more than 40 local unions that make up DSEA, the largest labor union in Delaware representing roughly 14,000 public school educators throughout the First State.
The Caesar Rodney Support Association, which represents 80 district custodians, will negotiate a new contract before their union’s current 4-year deal expires in 2028.
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Founded in 1919, DSEA represents classroom teachers, specialists, paraprofessionals, school counselors, school nurses, secretaries, food service workers, bus drivers, and custodians working across Delaware’s 16 geographically defined school districts, three countywide vocational-technical schools, and multiple charter schools.
