BY DARRELL HALEN

Pelham voters will soon have their chance to speak on a revised three-year teacher contract.

A deliberative session will begin at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 25, at Pelham Elementary School.

Voters will debate and discuss a special school district warrant article that calls for an increase of salaries and benefits of $283,514 in 2007-08, $324,437 in 2008-09, and $340,600 in 2009-10.

After voters rejected a proposed contract last March, representatives of the Pelham School District and the Pelham Education Association hammered out a revised contract.

Instead of providing raises averaging 5 percent each year, the revised agreement provides raises averaging 3.5 percent in the first year, and 4 percent in the following two years.

Like the rejected agreement, the revised contract provides a pay increase of 3.5 percent in the first year only for extracurricular positions, but includes approximately nine additional positions.

Currently, the school district contributes 85 percent toward the most expensive health insurance plans.

For cheaper plans, it pays more. The revised agreement calls for teachers to pick up 5 percent of the cost by the third year.

But opponents of the agreement argue that teachers should be contributing more.

While the School Board supports the agreement, the town’s Budget Committee does not.

Voters will go to the polls from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Pelham High School on Tuesday, Oct. 23, to accept or reject the contract.