After months of negotiating, Clark County Education Association (CCEA) and Clark County School District (CCSD) have reached a historic contract agreement regarding teacher salaries. 

“They [CCEA and CCSD] were able to cross some things off and see what numbers worked for them,” Computer Science teacher Dana Cuni said. “Since they agreed the arbitrator did not need to make any decisions in the agreement and it became the final decision.”

In the past 18 years, the largest pay increase in a single year four percent. In the new settlement, the contract allows for an 18 percent increase in salary.

“I think that what I am getting paid now will more accurately portray the work that I put in,” Social Studies teacher Benjamin LaCombe said. “Obviously I do not do this job for the money but it is important for a lifestyle like providing for my family and my kids. I think that there has been a lot of unnecessary fighting between our union and the district and it’s really hard to understand why it is such a struggle every year to get paid what we deserve.”

The contract will be fully effective within the next two years with an increase of 10 percent this year and an increase of eight percent in 2025.

“As a student, I feel like it is very important that our teachers are getting paid what they deserve,” senior Alyssa Hong said. “Teachers are the foundation of our education and knowledge, without them really caring and understanding us we wouldn’t be as successful.” 

With the lack of teachers in the district, teachers are dedicating more of their time and effort into their jobs than ever.

“The biggest issue we have with education in Nevada is the lack of licensed teachers within the classroom,” Cuni said. “The less teachers we have the more existing teachers need to work the more overworked they are, the more tired they are.”

Despite the historic change, the stigma behind joining the education industry is apparent.

“I think increased pay does help people to join but I do not think it is enough, young people are looking at the job and thinking ‘No way, I don’t care how much I get paid,’” LaCombe said. “I think that young people who are going through the schools and seeing what we’re doing and seeing how kids are and the difficulty is worth it. You really have to have a love of teaching others. It’s not like in the past where it was an attractive job because of pension and other benefits which do not exist anymore. I think it is a step in the right direction but we are going to need to change a lot of things to attract young people. Because what I have talked to in regards to young people is ‘Why would you want to become a teacher?’ even with increased pay.”