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Board approves negotiated agreement pending teacher ratification after salary‑grid overhaul to meet new state minimums
Summary
Trustees voted to approve a 2025–26 negotiated agreement with district negotiators; the agreement restructured the district salary grid to meet newly required state minima for professional tiers and averages roughly a 2.7% increase across placements, with some larger adjustments for individual teachers.
Middleton School District trustees voted to approve the negotiated agreement for the 2025–26 school year, subject to ratification by the Middleton Education Association.
District negotiators explained that the state added minimum salary thresholds tied to professional tiers (professional, advanced professional, etc.). To comply, staff reworked the local salary grid so teachers who have met state professional criteria sit at or above the new state minima. The administration said the new placement plan yields an average increase of about 2.7% across staff, though a small number of staff will see larger increases because their prior placement was below the newly required minima.
Why it matters: the negotiated agreement sets pay and working conditions for certified staff; the grid change aligns district practice with new state minimums and affects teacher pay, stipends and retirement base calculations.
Key points - Board action: trustees approved the negotiated agreement pending ratification by the Middleton Education Association (the agreement will take effect only after that ratification). - State requirements: administrators described three minimums the state now expects for certain professional levels; the district said it had to redesign its grid to satisfy those minima while avoiding contractual pay reductions for current employees. - Financial effect: staff said the resulting placements average a 2.7% increase; some teachers who had previously earned below the new minimums will receive larger adjustments. Administrators said no teacher will receive a pay decrease as a result of the change. - Stipends and retirement base: the district will consolidate various stipends into base salary placements on the grid in some cases; that consolidation will increase the retirement-calculation base for stipend recipients because stipends included in the base count toward retirement calculations. - Movement criteria: the agreement codifies state-aligned movement criteria (evaluation ratings, completion of individual professional learning plans, student‑achievement goals tied to the IPLP, no unsatisfactory Danielson components) and timelines for moving between levels.
Discussion and next steps Administrators said they will send individualized placement letters to certified staff so each employee can see where they land on the new grid and how stipends and prior credits were applied. The board’s approval is contingent on the association’s membership ratifying the contract; if either party rejects the agreement, negotiators said they will return to bargaining. Trustees asked about stipend review processes; administrators said leadership stipends remain a separate review and will come to the board in August.
Speakers who presented or explained the proposal included district negotiating staff and representatives who worked with the Middleton Education Association; trustees approved the agreement pending the association’s ratification.
