Crown Point board reviews one-year tentative teacher contract with $100 sick‑day payout and one‑time stipend

The Crown Point Community School Corporation board heard a presentation on a tentative one‑year contract with the Crown Point Education Association at a public hearing.

Presenter (staff member) summarized the principal changes in the draft agreement, saying the deal includes a retirement incentive for employees with a minimum of 110 accumulated sick days: "If they don't use all of their new sick days in a year, they would be reimbursed, at a $100 a day, for those unused sick days still keeping their balance at 110 or above." The presenter also explained employees will have options to receive that reimbursement or stipend as cash, placed in an HSA, or contributed to a 403(b).

The draft would permit up to two unused personal days to roll into personal days the next year, meaning an employee could have a maximum of five personal days in a single year; any additional unused personal days would roll into sick time. The presenter described changes to a negotiated sick‑bank provision that shorten the window for employees to opt into the bank.

Board members asked for clarification about timing and the scope of affected employees. The presenter said base salaries were not renegotiated but a one‑time stipend was agreed and is distributed according to a bell‑curve tied to years of teaching experience in Crown Point: "However many years you've been teaching in Crown Point, that's the number we went with to put you on this bell curve." The stipend, like the sick‑day reimbursement, can be taken as cash or placed into an employee's HSA or 403(b). If approved, the presenter said the stipend would be paid in December "three pays in December. December 5 and December 20 are normal pays. And on that twelfth, that Friday in between, that's when the stipend will be delivered."

The presenter also confirmed instructional leadership points will match last year's point value at $83.02 per point and will be awarded after principals confirm assigned duties.

A board member raised concerns that some teachers hired or approved under the contract could later face reductions‑in‑force; the presenter responded that staffing for next year is not yet known and it would be premature to predict layoffs without staffing and retirement data. Several board members and the presenter emphasized that non‑certified (support) staff raises will be brought to the board at the next meeting so all staff approvals can be considered together.

The board took no final vote on the contract at the hearing; the public hearing was closed after the presentation and discussion, and the contract is scheduled to come back to the board for approval at the next meeting.

For now, the tentative agreement outlines the $100‑per‑day reimbursement for employees meeting the 110‑day threshold, the one‑time experience‑based stipend with payout options, a two‑day personal‑day rollover allowance, a shortened sick‑bank sign‑up window, and an instructional leadership point value of $83.02. The board will consider final approval at its next scheduled meeting.