The I Can charter school network and teachers at three of its just-unionized schools reached agreement on June 6 on their first contract.

The three-year deal is the first union contract covering charter schools in Cleveland. It calls for teacher pay to start at $37,000, rising to a maximum just shy of $62,000 for about 85 teachers at the three schools.

The deal guarantees teachers a 50-minute planning period each day, creates a labor-management council to try to resolve issues between teachers and the schools and, in a key victory for the teachers, offers more job security than before.

Instead of always working on one-year contracts, teachers at the school now will have a grievance procedure and a progressive discipline system once they pass a 90-day probationary period.

Cleveland Plain-Dealer, June 6