The Secondary School System of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the Association of Catholic Teachers have agreed on a new contract, and the teachers ratified it at a meeting May 28.

The new one-year agreement takes effect Sept. 1 and affects the 650 high school lay teachers in the 17 archdiocesan high schools.

As announced in a May 29 statement from the archdiocese, the contract provides for salary increases of $1,200 for 2014-2015 and addresses rising medical costs in a manner that both parties agree is fair.

There will be moderate increases in employee contributions to the medical plan, according to the statement, and both parties pledged to explore ways to better manage health care costs in the future.

In the fall of 2013, the school system and the association agreed to focus on key issues in an effort to streamline negotiations and settle the contract prior to the close of the school year. The negotiating teams met often throughout the spring to achieve a contract settlement.