Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board adopts support-staff wage schedules after market review; targeted boost for special-education assistants
Summary
After a consultant market analysis, the McFarland School Board approved a 3.4% increase across support-staff pay schedule steps and an additional targeted adjustment to address market pressure on special-education assistant positions; board to notify staff this week.
The McFarland School Board voted to adopt revised support-staff and district-wide support-staff wage schedules for 2026-27 following a third-party market analysis.
Jeff Mahoney summarized the review completed by Cunningham Butler and referenced prior work by Carlson/Depman (now Cottingham). He told the board the comprehensive analysis used a blend of peer K–12 district data and cross-industry compensation sources and benchmarked 15 positions. "Overall findings indicated current pay structure midpoints are generally aligned with the external labor market with an aggregate market index of 97%," Jeff said.
Administration proposed a 3.4% change across schedule steps; for positions flagged by the consultant—particularly special-education assistant roles and certain Group 6/district-wide positions—an additional targeted adjustment of 1.75% was recommended. Board members noted turnover and competitive pressures for special-education assistants and discussed the cadence for comprehensive reviews and the district's practice of annual business-office monitoring with a full consultant review every several years.
The board moved, seconded and approved the recommended wage schedules as presented (motion carried 5-0). Administration said it will notify affected support staff by the following Wednesday and that the revisions reflect market alignment efforts to improve recruitment and retention.
