Board adopts MOU to implement retroactive pay for custodial and engineering staff

The South Bend Community School Corporation board approved a memorandum of understanding with AFSCME that adopts a pay scale for custodial and engineering staff effective upon adoption and retroactive to Jan. 1, 2026.

Legal counsel explained the MOU was presented so pay changes could take effect immediately while the administration and union continued to finalize a full collective bargaining agreement. Counsel said the MOU “basically adopts a pay scale that takes effect, upon adoption but with retroactive to January 1,” and that exhibit A was updated to raise the upper‑end pay cap (extending the scale from 30 to 40 years of service in the updated exhibit).

Public commenters asked for clarity about when retro pay checks would appear and raised concerns about wage ranges. An audience member asked whether the retro pay would be included in the next payroll; board counsel and administrators said it would not be in the immediate next payroll but was expected within the following payroll cycle, with an expectation around July 20. Kathleen Anastas compared custodial wages with other districts and asked why a previously posted wage range had changed on the agenda.

Board members said the MOU will be followed by a finalized collective bargaining agreement and that the board must return to approve any negotiated contract terms. Trustees voted to adopt the MOU; meeting remarks emphasized the district’s intent to avoid delaying pay adjustments while legal documents were completed.

The board did not move the full collective bargaining agreement at the meeting; the MOU sets interim pay and the administration said it will provide copies of the updated exhibit A to trustees.