FCC trustees to consider faculty pay increases at Sept. 28 meeting
The proposed contract update includes a 3.5% cost-of-living adjustment, a $500 base-pay adjustment and revised faculty review procedures.
HERE'S WHAT WE KNOW
The special meeting is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 28, at 3:30 p.m. Faculty ratified the tentative agreement Sept. 15; trustees are scheduled to consider it Monday. Proposed pay changes include a 3.5% cost-of-living adjustment and a $500 base-salary adjustment. The existing agreement runs through June 30, 2028.
Frederick Community College’s Board of Trustees is scheduled to consider a revised agreement with its full-time faculty union Monday, Sept. 28, including a 3.5% cost-of-living adjustment and a separate $500 adjustment to base salary.
The special meeting begins at 3:30 p.m. in the Chris T. Matthews Board Room, A201, at 793 Opossumtown Pike. FCC’s published agenda lists a proposed closed session on bargaining matters, followed by a return to open session for consideration of the agreement.
The proposal updates an existing contract with United Academics of Maryland-AFT-AAUP’s FCC chapter. The contract covers June 11, 2025, through June 30, 2028.
According to The Frederick News-Post’s reporting and the board packet, negotiations resumed in fall 2025 on wage-related matters and other agreed-upon changes. The parties reached a tentative agreement Sept. 3, and full-time faculty ratified it Sept. 15. Board approval remained pending ahead of Monday’s meeting.
The proposed 3.5% adjustment applies to the remaining balance of eligible faculty members’ 2026–27 base salaries. The packet gives different paycheck dates depending on the faculty member’s employment and pay schedule: Oct. 15 for eligible 12-month faculty paid over 12 months, Oct. 31 for eligible 10-month faculty paid over 10 months, and Nov. 15 for eligible 10-month faculty paid over 12 months.
The separate $500 base-salary adjustment would appear in the Jan. 15, 2027, paycheck.
The revised agreement also addresses how faculty seek promotions and sabbaticals and how performance evaluations are conducted. The News-Post reports that promotion to associate professor carries a permanent $5,000 salary increase, while promotion to full professor carries a $7,500 increase.
Faculty would receive annual formal performance evaluations. An unsatisfactory rating could lead to a Performance Growth Plan.
Another provision addresses qualifying degrees completed after July 1, 2026. Eligible faculty would choose between using the degree for promotion points or receiving a $3,500 salary adjustment. The proposal does not allow both benefits for the same degree, and eligibility requirements apply.
The agreement concerns FCC’s full-time faculty bargaining unit. It does not establish a new pay increase for every college employee.
Monday’s meeting is the next approval step. The proposed increases and revised procedures should not be treated as board-approved before trustees act.
WHAT IT MEANS
Approval would update compensation and employment procedures for the college’s full-time faculty bargaining unit. The proposal provides specific implementation dates, but the outcome of the board vote must be checked before reporting the changes as final.
Original reporting referenced by Everything Frederick:
The Frederick News-Post — Reporting by Sarah Rubinstein, from the supplied article. Additional verification: Frederick Community College’s Sept. 28, 2026, special meeting agenda and agreement packet. →Want more Frederick updates like this?
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