Board and JCA reach tentative deals on pay, sub pay and adverse‑event language; virtual/alternative schedule unresolved

Negotiators for the Geary County Board of Education and the JCA reached tentative agreements on salary, substitute pay and new language for make‑up days after adverse events, but left the district's HD Karnes alternative and virtual‑school scheduling unresolved, participants said.

The agreements include raising the district salary base and providing a minimum 1.5% increase to each cell in the salary schedule and raising substitute pay to $27 per hour. The parties also agreed on revised wording for make‑up days tied to adverse events that sets a three‑workday review window with an option to reconvene or extend only by mutual agreement, according to the negotiators' summary at the end of the meeting.

Why it matters: changes to the salary schedule and substitute pay affect payroll expense and staffing costs; adverse‑event language defines how the district and association handle lost instructional days; and unresolved virtual/alternative scheduling affects teacher planning time and class size at HD Karnes and for any new virtual students.

Key agreements and outcomes

- Salary and supplements: The parties reached a tentative compensation package that raises the base salary level (summary references a base near $47,900) and guarantees at least a 1.5% increase in each salary cell. Negotiators recorded the change as a mutual agreement for the current round of talks.

- Substitute pay:…