(a) Except as hereinafter provided, each teacher shall receive an increment for each year of continuous service on Turtle River School Division staff until such teacher reaches the maximum in his/her class, such increments and such maximums being in accordance with Article 3.12 on this agreement.
(b) i) The anniversary date for annual increments for all teachers hired before January 1, 1988 shall be September 1st.
ii) The anniversary date for annual increments for all teachers hired on or after January 1, 1988 shall be September 1st or January 1st.
For the purpose of annual increments, only complete years of teaching experience as described in Sections 3.04 and 3.05 will be recognized.