PEABODY — A tuition reimbursement plan adopted by the School Committee in May will give 33 teachers money for master's degree-level coursework taken during the year.
Superintendent C. Milton Burnett said last week that 43 teachers applied for the reimbursement, which covered one graduate course of up to four credits at an accredited college. Of those, 33 met the criteria and will receive $99.01 per unit, up to $396.04, not to exceed the actual cost of the course.
To be eligible, teachers must have worked two years in the district. They also had to receive a B or better and submit documents to the School Department verifying their grades and payments.
"It's a good number of people," Burnett said.
In May, committee member David McGeney proposed setting aside $10,000 for the program. He said it would help keep teachers longer and attract more of them.
The per-unit reimbursement depended on the total number of credits applied for, divided by the eligible applicants. In this case, 33 teachers asked for 101 credits to be funded.
Burnett said most teachers took classes at state colleges, site-based master's programs offered by private colleges or through the Northeast Consortium for Staff Development.
"It's the first time for Peabody," Burnett said. "The feedback has been very positive."
The superintendent credited the School Committee for taking the lead and promoting the program. He hopes more than $10,000 can be set aside for the program next year.
"We'll see how this finally works out and we'll examine the process between the School Committee and the federation (union) leadership to see if the goals of the program are met and it's fair," Burnett said.
Peabody Federation of Teachers President Bruce Nelson said teachers had long asked for a tuition reimbursement program. The union and the School Committee are still in contract talks and have called on a mediator to help them finalize the terms.
The union president agreed the reimbursement plan would help keep teachers in Peabody. He's also optimistic the tuition pay-back will continue.
"We're hopeful it's also in (this) year's budget," Nelson said.
