Superintendent Dr. Hall opened a public hearing on a tentative two‑year agreement between the South Madison Community School Corporation and the South Madison Classroom Teachers Association, saying the agreement covers July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2027, and noting the meeting is held to satisfy Indiana law.

“Indiana Code 20-29-6-19(a) requires that after the parties have reached a tentative agreement, the school employer must hold a public meeting to discuss the tentative agreement that has been posted on the district's website,” Dr. Hall said.

Dr. Hall summarized compensation and language changes in the tentative agreement. He said the administration and the union had to revise the compensation model after recent state changes. “There’s a lot of blue language. That is because of all the state the changes to the state requirements to the compensation…we basically had to rewrite the entire compensation model,” he said.

Key provisions Dr. Hall described include:
- Contract duration: July 1, 2025–June 30, 2027 (two years).
- Base salary adjustments: the parties agreed to add $350 to line 1 of the salary matrix (reported as raising the base to $50,003.50 in the presentation) in the first year and an additional $150 in the second year (reported as a base of $50,500 for year two). Dr. Hall said returning teachers will advance one line on the matrix, described in the presentation as equal to $11.35.
- Literacy endorsement: by law teachers with a literacy endorsement must be paid more; the agreement adds $160 for teachers holding that endorsement.
- Leave changes: bereavement leave for the death of a spouse or child increased to 10 days; parental leave was increased by 15 days to a total of 30 days after the birth of a child; catastrophic sick bank repayment was changed from three days to five days.
- Retirement donation: departing teachers may donate up to 75 accumulated days to the catastrophic sick bank.
- Insurance changes: the traditional medical plan deductible reported in the presentation was changed to $750 per person and $1,500 per family in-network; total out-of-pocket maximums reported were increased (presenter gave specific numbers during the hearing).
- Extracurricular stipends (ECA): no change to the multiplier for stipends, but several role titles were adjusted (for example, summer band director language changed to marching band director) and stipends were added for jazz band, pep band and a girls middle-school golf coach.
- Reopen conditions: the contract can be reopened if district enrollment changes by 150 students, the state makes substantial funding changes, or there is a critical financial need in self-insurance funds.

Dr. Hall said the tentative agreement was ratified Tuesday by the Classroom Teachers Association and that the board is legally required to wait the required posting period before voting. He said the administration will bring the agreement back for board approval at the next regular meeting after fall break; if approved, retroactive pay would be issued at that time.

No final board action on the tentative agreement was taken at the hearing; the presentation served as the required public discussion of the posted tentative agreement.