The chair of the Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative School Board has pushed back against criticism of the new teaching contract for the district. 

Dennis Golding said at Tuesday’s meeting that people are expressing disapproval of the contract in light of recently received property tax bills, claiming that teachers made out extremely well with the new pact.

“Nothing could be further from the truth,” said Golding.

On Wednesday, Golding stated, “Yes, the teachers got a larger contract this year, but also that they had gone without a significant raise for the past five-plus years.”

The collective bargaining agreement approved in March estimated a first-year increase of $629,285, $279,200 for the second year and $254,780 for the third year of the contract. The warrant article approved in March notes that “the heaviest salary adjustments are programmed for our first salary steps (newest teachers) in the first year of the contract.”

For the first year, Lyndeborough is responsible for 28.18% of the amount, or $177,333. This represents an increase of 80.24 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. Wilton is responsible for 71.82% of this amount, or $451,952 in year one. This represents an increase of 79.91 cents per $1,000 of assessed value for Wilton.

“The first year of the contract is the heavy lifting,” said SAU63 Business Administrator Kristie LaPlante Wednesday.

The warrant article also explained how between area districts Hollis-Brookline, ConVal, Mascenic and Jaffrey-Rindge, in 2023, WLC had the lowest beginning salary for a new teacher at $37,500. The 2025 contract places WLC in the middle of this grouping.

“On social media, people are frustrated with their tax bills, and there’s some negative feedback about a pay increase for teachers,” said LaPlante. “During the December meeting last year, there was no negative feedback.”

Vice Chair Brianne Lavallee noted at Tuesday’s meeting how standardized test scores in the district are up this year. LaPlante echoed this point on Wednesday.

“SAT and SAS scores show marked improvement here. This can be attributed to the quality of teachers we’ve been able to retain,” she said. 

“I take my stewardship of district funds very seriously,” LaPlante said. “If anybody wants specifics or to see the numbers, I’d be happy to share them.”

“Sometimes the community doesn’t see or appreciate the amount of money, dedication and time these teachers put in so that their students can get the education they deserve,” said Golding at the close of Tuesday’s meeting.