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ST. LOUIS COUNTY — Rockwood School District has finally struck a deal with its unionized educators after a monthslong negotiations deadlock.

The deal to raise educator salaries by 10% over the next two years — 5.25% in year one and 4.75% in year two — followed lengthy negotiations and public pressure. It marks the highest percentage increase over two years in the history of Rockwood negotiations, according to the district’s teachers union.

But it’s still far less than what the union originally sought.

Thomas Cook, president of Rockwood National Education Association, or RNEA, said members originally asked for a 30% raise for educator salaries over three years. The union calculated Rockwood would need the 30% to get its teacher salaries to “county midpoint.�

“We’re one of the highest regarded districts in the state,� Cook said. “We feel that our pay should be commensurate with that.�

Rockwood’s rank in pay among area districts has been one of the largest points of contention during negotiations, which began in September and continued with rising intensity over the next six months.

Teachers and parents picketed outside of Rockwood schools in February and early March, some holding signs saying, “Top results, bottom pay.�

“Personally, I believe that teachers should be some of the most well-paid people,� Rockwood parent Sara Spears said in a recent interview.

State data shows Rockwood has the 10th-highest average teacher salary out of the 22 school districts in St. Louis County. Its average teacher salary of $70,695 falls behind that of Brentwood, Jennings, Hancock Place, Parkway and Kirkwood, among other districts, with Clayton at the top. Teacher salaries there averaged $88,451 in 2024.

But Rockwood’s salary average is skewed by the high number of long-time and high-credentialed educators the district employs, Cook said. Where Rockwood has fallen short, he said, is its salary schedule, or the system school districts use to determine salaries based on educators’ degrees and years of experience.

The minimum pay for a Rockwood teacher with a bachelor’s degree fell from eighth highest in St. Louis County to 20th between 2017 and 2024. In the same time span, Rockwood went from offering the sixth-highest pay to teachers with master’s degrees to 12th.

Educators also argued their pay should reflect Rockwood’s academic standing.

The district had the fifth-highest percentage of students scoring advanced in math last year and eighth-highest percentage of students scoring advanced in English in St. Louis County last school year, according to state data.

Rockwood covers a large area in southwestern St. Louis County, including Eureka, Wildwood, Ellisville and parts of Fenton and Chesterfield.

Some Rockwood educators have said they can’t afford to live in the district they teach in. They said the district has lost educators to other districts that pay better but rank lower in academics.

“We are working harder than ever, yet our pay does not reflect the rising cost of living, especially here in our own community,� Kristina Presley, a Rockwood librarian, told the board at a December meeting.

Previous RNEA offers were not “fiscally sustainable,� district officials said. In addition to 30%, the union also proposed salary raises of 18% and 16% over the next three school years.

“These percentages would quickly exhaust the district reserves,� district officials said in a February .

District leaders acknowledged Thursday that while the 10% bump is progress, there’s still a long way to go to make Rockwood more competitive.

“This is a first step, and we all acknowledge that,� board member Bob Cadigan said.

Superintendent Curtis Cain previously told RNEA in a March 3 letter that the district may need a tax levy increase to avoid a salary freeze in the 2027-2028 school year. The district previously proposed a 12% raise over three years, which the union rejected.

A district spokesperson said the only way the board would support the two-year, 10% raise was if there was an understanding that a higher raise in the second year would be taken from what was originally proposed for the third year.

“In doing so, we have clearly shared that there is the strong potential for a salary freeze in year three as this will be negotiated based on the state of the district at that time,� Mary LaPak, chief communications officer, said in an email.

Rockwood has one of the lowest tax rates in St. Louis County and there hasn’t been a tax increase for Rockwood staff since 1994.

LaPak said everyone, including the board, superintendent and administrators, wants to pay Rockwood teachers more. But it has to been done in a way the district could sustain.

“This has always been a question of sustainability — not what we would love to do,� Cain said at the Thursday meeting. “We’d love for the numbers to actually be much higher.�