CHERRY TWP — Teachers in the Moniteau School District will receive a pay increase as a result of a collective bargaining agreement between the Moniteau School District and the Moniteau Education Association.

In a vote of 5-4, the school board approved a new contract at its Monday night meeting. The contract sets annual salary increases for teachers at 1 percent for each of the agreement’s five years. The salary increases would be based on teachers’ base salaries, which change as they progress through the contract’s step system and accrue more years of service.

Board members Linda Dillaman, JoAnn Duke, Trixie Heck, Diane Hunter and Kathy McBride voted for the agreement. Board members Eric Anderson, Randy Armagost, Cecil Blauser and Michael Panza voted against it.

About 40 guests, many of them teachers in the district, were at the meeting for the vote.

The current three-year agreement ends June 30. The term of the new agreement is July 1 through June 30, 2022. The contract covers 97 teachers. The average teacher’s annual salary in the district is $56,000, Panza said. The contract does not contain changes to retirement and health care contributions for teachers, Panza said.

Panza praised the teachers’ performance and said they deserved a raise, but also said the board has to answer to the community.

“It’s a balance between letting the teachers know we value them and the needs of the community,” he said.

“If we raise taxes to the amount the state allows — which I don’t approve of — it still wouldn’t cover the cost of the increase,” Panza said.

“We negotiate within parameters,” McBride said.

John D’Amore, district business manager and acting superintendent, said school funding, including compensation and benefits for teachers, is not solely the responsibility of district residents.

He said 40 percent of district funding is from local sources. This includes local taxes with real estate taxes being the largest of those taxes.

D’Amore said the remaining 60 percent of financial support is from state funding.

Duke, Heck and McBride represented the school board in negotiations with the education association.

Eagle staff writer Phillip Rau contributed to this report.