By Matthew Gambino • Posted June 17, 2016

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia and the high school teachers union have agreed on a new one-year contract effective Sept. 1, the archdiocese announced June 15.

The 640 lay high school teachers, members of the Association of Catholic Teachers Local 1776, ratified the contract June 14.

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It provides for a $1,100 salary increase per teacher for the fiscal year beginning July 1. It also addresses rising medical costs through the introduction of a pharmacy benefit manager, which calls for a new pharmacy provider and a new annual deductible for one of the medical plans, according to the archdiocesan statement.

The teachers’ union and the archdiocesan Office of Catholic Education negotiated in what has become an annual process of meetings early in the year with an agreement in June.

It is the third consecutive year the parties have agreed on a one-year contract. The last multi-year deal came in 2011, when a three-year contract was ratified by teachers after a strike that lasted some two weeks that September.

The early conclusion of the agreement this year assures that the 17 archdiocesan schools, which last year enrolled more than 13,000 students, will open on time in September.