Board hears salary committee recommendations: modest steps, substitute and para pay increases proposed

The board reviewed recommendations from the salary and benefits committee, which has been meeting for several months. The committee recommended holding teacher base salaries largely steady for the 2026–27 school year while granting a step increase for non‑frozen employees and making targeted changes to support positions.

Committee lead (speaker 7) told the board the committee proposed renaming the family involvement coordinator to school home coordinator for Title I billing purposes, adding a digital media technician position approved last June to the salary schedule, and increasing daily substitute pay from $115 to $120 (and certified substitute pay from $133 to $138). The committee also proposed raising class‑coverage pay from $20 to $25 per hour and raising a para‑coverage differential from $7 to $10 per day. "The estimated cost really for the increase for class coverage and for substitutes is going to be about a total of $59,000 as an estimate for the 2627 school year," the committee lead said.

Board members praised the work but pressed for long‑term funding strategies. One board member said the district must address base pay increases in the near future to remain competitive with neighboring districts. Committee members said the changes are intended to balance benefits and wages while preserving benefits packages, and staff noted that some positions are capped by state certification limits.

The presentation also touched on longer‑term budget effects from district reorganization and staff consolidation, where early numbers presented elsewhere in the session estimated roughly $1 million in savings so far through attrition and role consolidation.

These salary schedule changes were presented for board consideration and will be placed on a future agenda for action.