Teachers in Island public schools will see their salaries increase 6.75 per cent over the next three years under a new contract ratified this week by school administrators and union leaders.

The all-Island school committee voted Wednesday night to ratify the contract. The two unions representing the teachers voted to ratify one day earlier.

Under the new contract, teacher salaries will increase two per cent in the first year, two per cent in the second year and 2.75 per cent in the third year. The overall package also includes step increases, track changes and longevity pay and will add another $2.5 million in wage costs to school budgets over the life of the contract.

School business administrator Amy Tierney said most school budgets had built in a two per cent salary increase as they prepared for the next budget cycle. The superintendent’s budget included a one per cent increase, so the contract will add about $36,000 to that budget.

“It’s not going to be a catastrophic amount for any school,” assistant superintendant Richard Smith said this week.

The new contract goes into effect Sept. 1.

Notably, longevity pay has been increased for teachers serving 10 years or more. Teachers completing 10 to 20 years of service will be paid $250 more in annual longevity pay, earning $1,500 (10-15 years), and $2,250 (16-20 years). Teachers with 20 to 30-plus years of service will earn longevity pay of $3,500 (21-25 years), $4,250 (26-30 years) and $5,000 (30-plus years), an increase of $750 at each tier.

Vineyard schools superintendent Dr. Matthew D’Andrea said the idea was to create an incentive for teachers to stay. “The longer they stay the more they are awarded for the time they put in,” he said.

Professional days have doubled, from two to four, but the number of school days have dropped by two.

The first day of the school year will be a full-day professional development day followed by two preparation days. The contract stipulates every effort must be made to ensure classrooms will be cleaned and ready to be set up at least one week before the first working day of school.

“This was added because as we back up and front-load some of these days we would be starting earlier in the school year and teachers want to make sure they can get into their classrooms and get ready for their students,” Mr. D’Andrea said.

Step pay will increase salaries overall by another 3.9 per cent over the three-year contract.

There are 13 steps based on years of service, with a new teacher starting at step one. Currently 60 per cent of the teachers are at the top step, a significant percentage, said Susan Mercier, a longtime school committee member from Edgartown who chaired the negotiating committee on the administration side.

Doug DeBettencourt and Mike Joyce both teachers at the high school, co-chaired the union negotiating team. The two Island teacher associations include the Martha’s Vineyard Educators Association, with teachers from the Edgartown, Oak Bluffs and Tisbury schools, and the Martha’s Vineyard Regional Teachers and Educators Association, with teachers in the high school and up-Island district, as well as support staff from all the schools. The contract covers 275 public school teachers, excluding the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School.

In the negotiations, an expedited method was adopted by mutual consent. Committees began negotiating in November and met five times.

Both sides praised the process.

“We really felt we had a positive relationship with the teachers and you get to yes much quicker. We went in with a positive outlook,” Mrs. Mercier said.

Mr. DeBettencourt agreed. “It cut down on a lot of peripheral minor things that can be worked out internally,” he said. “It forces each side to be more reasonable to begin with.

“Personally, this is the sixth contract I’ve done and I think it went the smoothest I’ve seen.”