Blue Valley Board approves teacher and staff agreements with 4% raises across workforce

The Blue Valley Board of Education on Aug. 11 approved multiple negotiated agreements that include a 4% pay increase for teachers, classified staff and administrators for the 2025–26 school year.

Board members voted unanimously to approve the related service professionals agreement, the professional employees (teacher) agreement and the classified and administrator compensation proposals after staff reported the results of association votes and outlined compensation mechanics. Dr. Prentzberg told the board that 97.5% of teachers who voted supported the teachers’ agreement, and administrators said the related service professionals association voted 100% in favor.

The agreements were presented as part of the district’s broader compensation package for 2025–26. Dr. Prentzberg said the teachers’ agreement provides a 4% increase “in every cell and step movement for our teachers.” The classified wage schedules and administrator salaries were also recommended for a 4% increase; motions to approve each item were made by board members and each passed unanimously.

Board members used the vote time to probe implementation details. Members asked how step schedules, lateral and horizontal movement, and additional degrees would interact with the 4% recommendation. District staff said employees on step schedules may see additional increases from moving a step or earning advanced degrees, while some schedule positions historically have been frozen in certain years. The district acknowledged the overall insurance increase was “north of 15%” this year and that the district used reserves and policy changes to cover roughly 10% of that rise.

Public comment earlier in the meeting emphasized teacher pay and proposed multiple measures of teacher evaluation. Steve Roberts, a member of the public, urged the board to “pay good teachers good money, and very good teachers very good salaries,” and suggested using a mixture of administrative review, peer review and student feedback to identify strong teachers.

The board’s votes finalize the district’s compensation posture ahead of budget adoption, which the board scheduled for final action after September budget hearings. The superintendent and finance staff said they will report back with additional compensation and budget details at coming workshops to help the board weigh long‑term implications.

Next steps: the board advances the district’s budget process with public hearings in September, and staff said they will continue refining budget impacts and clarifications on step‑movement and benefits.