The Lawrence school board Monday unanimously approved a new contract for district teachers containing a 5 percent hike in salary and benefits.

That doesn’t mean all seven board members were happy with the deal.

Board member Jack Davidson called it a “miserly” raise for a group of 900 professional teachers who deserve better.

“I think these people are abysmally paid,” he said.

While the board’s vice president, Scott Morgan, agreed with Davidson that the district had a long way to go before district teacher salaries were sufficiently competitive, he said nobody should diminish the effort that went into fashioning this contract.

“We went through nothing short of budgetary hell to get to this and it was worth it,” Morgan said.

The board eliminated dozens of teaching and support staff jobs and imposed substantial student fee increases to come up with about $2.5 million to finance the package.

“We let some people go, and it was hard and bad,” Scott Morgan said. “I am still very excited about this agreement.”

A ratification vote by members of Lawrence Education Assn., the union representing district teachers, is expected June 17.

Under the new contract, a starting Lawrence teacher would make $26,680 annually. Teachers at the top of the pay scale, those with a doctorate and at least 25 years experience, would earn $50,600.

“I was very satisfied that we were able to do this amount for staff,” said Sue Morgan, board president.

After adopting the 5 percent raise for teachers, the board authorized an equivalent expansion of salary and benefits for classified and administrative employees.

Board member Austin Turney spoke against the contract for teachers, but voted for it. He said the board hadn’t spent enough time debating alternatives to designing and funding the compensation package.

During a general discussion about the district’s 2002-2003 budget, Davidson said the district should have a plan in place for dealing with a state budget rollback resulting from declining state tax revenues.

“I think it’s a real worry,” he said. “You have to keep it not in the back of your mind, but up front.”

Kathy Johnson, the district’s budget director, said there was about $1.6 million in a district contingency fund. That’s available to counter state spending cutbacks, he said.