BUTLER TWP - The Butler County Vocational-Technical School joint operating committee approved a new 5-year contract with its teachers Tuesday night.

Committee members voted 8 to 1 in favor of the contract, with Butler School District representative Penelope Kingman voting against the contract.

The contract is effective July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2009, and covers 20 employees.

No one from the teachers' union was present for the vote.

Negotiations started in April. Teachers have been working under the terms of the old contract since June.

The new contract calls for an average annual salary increase of 3 percent.

Years one and two of the contract include a $1,700 increase in pay; year three has a $1,750 increase; and years four and five contain an $1,800 raise, said vo-tech director Joe Cunningham.

The average teacher's salary at the vo-tech is $50,000.

Other changes in the new contract include:

Moving from an indemnity health insurance plan to a point of service plan, which includes some premium payments for teachers. Premiums for teachers during the first year are $20 per month, and increase by $5 each of the subsequent years of the contract.

The teachers now work a total of 184 days per year.

Tuition reimbursement will be revoked if a teacher immediately takes a job with another school or company after the vo-tech reimburses the teacher for schooling.

Seneca Valley School District representative Ken Brennan, who served on the vo-tech's negotiating committee, said both sides conducted themselves well throughout the negotiations process.

"I think (the contract) represents the best ideas from both groups and I think it's something we can all live with," Brennan said.