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Local public high school teachers voted 61 per cent in favour of a new oneâ€"year deal with the Waterloo Region district school board last Friday that included a fiveâ€"perâ€"cent wage increase by June 30 of next year, and a new salary grid range of $31.918 for starting teachers to A fiveâ€"perâ€"cent wage increase has bought some â€" tentative labour peace between the local public school board and its secâ€" ondary school feachers. But a close ratification vote still signals the teachers‘ displeasure with changes made to education sysâ€" tem says their chief negotiator. Close ratification vote signals public board teachers‘ continued dissatisfaction 8â€"K Motors Authorized BMW Retoiler â€" 527 King 51. N. Wot Telephone (519) 885â€"5090 Tâ€"mail into@b kmotors.com Looking For a New Traffic survey volunteers (from left) Jina Archibald, Sabina Bomans, Jenny Corrigan and Michelie Cooper, all 11, counted motorists wearing seat belts at the comer of Fisherâ€"Hallman Road and Columbia Avenue Saturday during the Waterloo Region community health department‘s annual Seat Belt Challenge. Results for this year‘s challenge were not available at press time. Gomfort for All SeISOMNS w /iz6,sFuniture fhkp 099"~ 1549 3 1i BJB 0 e ula‘n wacmo se zons By Bos VaBanac Chronicle Staff LAâ€"Zâ€"BOY COMFORT NEVER GOES OUT OF STYLE as shown 849 $68,576 for those at the top of the grid. s â€" It was local high school teachâ€" ers‘ first â€" significant â€" wage increase in more than eight years. But the lessâ€"thanâ€"overwhelmâ€" ing support for the new deal is more an indication of local teachers‘ _ discontent _ with changes to education made by the province earlier this year, than disappointment with the new deal struck with the local board said Dave Brohman, chief negotiator for the local chapter of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers‘ Federation (OSSTF). "I believe what it is is a reflecâ€" tion of teachers‘ discontent with the six versus 6.67 workload Belt up PAGE 3 issue," said Brohman. "We had many members who simply didâ€" n‘t feel that any agreement that included 6.67 was what they wanted." Teaching 6.67 classes out of an eightâ€"class schedule was on of the legislated changes the Ministry of Education imposed on the province‘s high school teachers with the passing of Bill 74 in June. "They were identifying one of the key issues which was teachâ€" ing four out of four classes and the drain that has on them as professionals," said Brohman. "For many of our members, that remained the main issue. The review process would also be Continued on page 5 _ more formalized so that it would be DESORAK CRANGALL PHOTO aterloo0 city council took on W[he thorny issue of council compensation Monday night, approving wage increases and a benefits package for the incoming council. Waterloo has traditionally lagged behind other local councils in the area of council compensation, with sugâ€" gestions that no formal review of local council remuneration has been done for more than a decade. Council approves : its wage increase : That lack of political will to address the dicey subject of what to pay local councillors and the mayor meant local iz o politicians were the ‘I thin lowest paid public too officials in a compariâ€" son study done of 14 And th sameâ€"sized municiâ€" reaso palities around the § province. I‘m i In light of the j tecent reduction of asat council size from â€" Mike C eight to five, most Waterloo councilfors expect the amount â€" of _ time required to carry out their responsiâ€" bilities will increase over the next few years, So they initiated a review to decide what the appropriate increase should be for the incoming council to avoid accusations that they were simâ€" ply voting for their own wage increasâ€" "This review was not done in the memorable past," said Bob Pyatt, a local human resources specialist and chair of the city‘s council compensaâ€" tion review committee. "It‘s a situation that shows that there was a whole lot of catching up to do." The compensation review comâ€" mittee suggested that the mayor‘s salary be increseased from $46,073 to $51,000. Councillors pay â€" would be increased from $12,645 to $20,000, and would keep pace with any increase received by city staff in conâ€" tract negotiations. In additron benefits, including extended health, that are currently being paid to the mayor, would also be paid to councillors. Council would also be reimbursed for the cost of a cell phone in addition to the home computers already proâ€" vided. By Bos Vreanac Chronicle Staff Monâ€"Wed 10â€"6 Thursâ€"Fri 10â€"8 Sat 10â€"5 Sun 1â€"5 FREE PARKING "I think that‘s too high. And that‘s the reason why I‘m voting against it." â€" Mike Connolly Waterloo councillor B (cick hors} e 3â€"K Motors Authorized BMW Retoider â€" 527 King 51. N. Wat Teleghone (519) 8855090 Eâ€"mail info@bâ€"kmot reviewed every three years before the a next municipal election, and that it & would target the median wage of the municipalities used for comparison. Most of the review recommendations were accepted with some opposition _ to the figures forwarded to council Coun. Mike Connolly opposed the increase of the mayor‘s salary to $51,000, a 22â€"perâ€"cent increase in one year, saying that the mayor was adeâ€" quately compensated when the regional remuneration and the honoâ€" rarium for sitting on the local hydro board were factored into the compenâ€" sation package. "I think that‘s too high," said Connolly, a mayoralty > candidate. "And that‘s that‘s the reason why I‘m votâ€" ob ing against it." Looking For a New 9 °* He was joined in t‘s the opposition by mayoralâ€" ty candidate Lynne Why Woolstencroft, _ and ting outgoing Coun. Bruce f it." Alexander, who was against the bulk of the inolly review‘s recommendaâ€" uncilior tions, but the motion was carried by the majority of council. Council compensation was also passed with an exception forwarded by Coun. Bruce Anderson that the new rate of pay be increased to $18,000 instead of the $20,000 the review recommended. Alexander was the only councillor who voted against the motion. Another slight change was the automatic increase provision. Coun. Sean Strickland objected to the perâ€" ception of having council‘s increase tied to a staff wage increase. To avoid the perception of a conâ€" flict of interest, Strickland suggested the increase be tied to the previous year‘s Consumer Price Index to account for inflation. The only opposition came from Alexander and Connolly, who felt that the increase should always be lower than the adjustment staff negotiated for that year. All the measures take effect in December when the new council sits for the first time. Benefits given to the mayor were also extended to the bulk of council, with the right of individual councilâ€" lors to opt out. The only unanimous motion was a recommendation that councillors be reimbursed for the cost of cell phones, a home computer and the new BlackBerry pagers now provided.