BRISTOL, Conn. – In December 2014, after months of failed negotiations that resulted in binding arbitration, the Bristol school board and teacher union settled on a new collective bargaining agreement that gave teachers a 3 percent raise for the next three years.

A year and a half later, worried and upset teachers, parents and students crowded into a school board meeting to hear details about a plan for school budget cuts to make up for a deficit of more than $1 million.

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Among the suggested cuts were cutting some student programs and the purchase of equipment and supplies, according to Fox61.com.

We have to wonder if the new teacher’s contract, and resulting labor costs, had anything to do with the district’s big budget deficit.

Bristol teachers made out pretty well under the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement, particularly with benefits included.

In 2015-16, 654 Bristol teachers/staff members were paid a combined $52,672,074 in straight salary. That put the average base salary at $80,538.

Bristol teachers work 181 days per year, and we will assume about eight hours per day. Using that schedule, the average salary breaks down to about $444 per day and about $55 per hour.

The employees also received a combined $9,402,768 in medical, dental, vision and prescription benefits. That averages out to $14,377 per teacher.

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The average salary plus average benefits totals $94,915 in average total compensation for the year. That breaks down to about $524 per day and about $65 per hour.