BURNT HILLS & BALLSTON LAKE — Nearly 300 teachers in the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake school district got raises Tuesday following the ratification of a new three-year contract with the district.

Spokeswoman Christy Multer said the contract approved by teachers on June 13 and the Board of Education last week calls for a 2.1 percent pay increase the first two years and a 2 percent increase in the final year of the pact.

The contract was approved one week before the expiration of the old agreement between teachers and the district.

“The Board of Education approved a new three-year negotiated agreement with its Teachers Association at its June 24 meeting, concluding a bargaining process that began in January,” Multer said.

As of July 1, teachers’ pay in the district ranged from a starting salary of $38,480 to $80,340 for those with at least 19 years of experience.

Teachers also receive experience increments and additional pay for additional work such as coaching teams or advising clubs.

Superintendent of Schools James Schultz said the average budget cost increase from the new agreement would be 4.7 percent a year if there was no change in teaching staff.

He called the agreement a “fair and reasonable” contract.

“The negotiating process was one of collegiality and mutual respect,” he said. “Both sides of the table worked hard to move our schools forward, to provide resources that will support continued academic excellence while also recognizing the real complexities inherent in our national economic downturn.”

Teachers Association President Rocco Montesano said he felt the new contract gave teachers a fair increase in salary while not creating a burden on taxpayers.

“We’re very fortunate in Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake to have an atmosphere of cooperation in all areas,” he said. “We certainly need to balance help for the teachers while we help the school district educate our children.”

The new agreement calls for tenured and non-tenured teachers to be formally observed and evaluated by district administrators on a regular basis, Multer said.

“Other changes in the negotiated contract include clearer language on the recording of personal days and leaves of absence, plus the creation of a collaborative meeting time before school for elementary teachers,” she said.

The Teachers Association chief negotiator was Dennis Bouchard, who said he’s been involved in the past seven contract negotiations stretching over 18 years.

“There was only one time, in the early ’90s, when we failed to settle a contract before the old one expired,” he said.

Teachers went about six months without a new contract in that case, he said.

Bouchard said one of the items in the new contract is clarification of compensation for teachers called to military service.

“Federal law does provide the bulk of what we have in our agreement now, but we had no reference to it in the previous contract,” he said.