PHILADELPHIA – School principals have accepted a new union contract that will save the Philadelphia School District about $20 million, largely through salary reductions and new benefit contributions.

The recently ratified contract will cut the school year for principals from 12 to 10 months and salaries by roughly $20,000 annually. Principals and assistant principals will also pay seven percent of their benefits this year, and eight percent in 2015, the Philadelphia Enquirer reports.

They previously paid nothing toward benefits, which is almost unheard of in the modern era of tight school budgets.

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“With a new fiscal year at our doorstep, we needed to do something to help right the district. We’ve ratified a contract, but we’re hardly celebrating,” Robert McGrogan, president of the administrator’s union, told the news site.

The contract also implements a performance-based system for pay increases, and allows district officials to look beyond seniority during administrator layoffs.

Philly administrators will ultimately see their pay cut by roughly 12 to 17 percent, which means about $1,000 less per biweekly paycheck, McGrogan told the news site.

“This contract ratification is another example of their commitment to putting students’ needs first,” Superintendent William R. Hite Jr. said in a statement.

Now it’s time to see if the Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, which is also in contract negotiations, has the same commitment to students and keeping the district afloat.

By the sound of it, they union is lacking the same type of school spirit.

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District officials hope to secure roughly $130 million in savings from the PFT, but union President Jerry Jordan isn’t budging.

“I must once again emphasize how difficult it is to negotiate a contract when the School District is facing a $400 million deficit for 2014-15. This is the direst financial crisis our schools have ever faced. It is why the district has not backed away from any of their proposals, including reducing the salaries of PFT members,” Jordan wrote to his members in a statement.

“We are willing to negotiate many contract provisions, but our members will not accept a pay cut.”

The Inquirer reports the district is also seeking to increase class time, and “many other work rule changes.” Judging by the administrators’ contract, those changes likely include removing union seniority from the teacher layoff policy and other employment decisions.

The district’s new contract with principals certainly sets a promising example for PFT teachers to follow, and it’s crystal clear that district leaders will need significant concessions from teachers to bridge its massive budget gap while improving instruction for the city’s students.

There’s no reason for the union to be stubborn. The school district has traditionally spent a huge part of its annual budget on salaries and perks for teacher union members. Now times are tough and it’s time for the union to return the favor, so kids won’t have to suffer.

The only question that remains is whether the PFT will voluntarily help in the process, or if the School Reform Commission – which has special powers from the state – will be forced to impose contract terms on the union, which would undoubtedly result in a strike, protracted legal battle, or both.