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Nixa Board approves 2026-27 budget, raises teacher base pay to $45,200
Summary
At its June 26 retreat and regular meeting, the Nixa Board of Education approved the 2026-27 budget and raised the teacher base salary to $45,200 — described by board president Heather Zarsky as at least a $1,400 raise for all teachers — and approved multiple salary-schedule adjustments and facility plans.
Heather Zarsky, president of the Nixa Board of Education, said the board approved the district’s budget for the upcoming 2026-27 school year and authorized changes to employee pay schedules at its June 26 retreat and evening meeting.
“One of the highlights of the budget was an increase in the base salary of teachers to $45,200, which is at least a $1,400 raise for all teachers,” Zarsky said. She told the board the budget also included enhancements across the salary schedule for teachers and other staff to keep the district competitive.
The board reviewed and approved a rotation of targeted salary-schedule reviews this year, with recommended adjustments for therapists, PAT, XLT, teachers, substitutes and school psychologists. Zarsky said the committee recommended those adjustments and the board approved them as part of the retreat actions.
The board also received updates on 2023 no-tax-levy bond projects, including planned expansions at Nixa Junior High and work at JTSD, and reviewed maintenance plans for district buildings, many of which are 20 to 25 years old.
Board members spent time with district data on topics the superintendent had identified as priorities — community engagement, curriculum and instruction, artificial intelligence, professional development, safety and funding — and discussed supports for students with drug- or alcohol-related offenses.
At the evening meeting the board handled a consent agenda that included payment of bills, employment updates, setting meal prices for the coming school year and approval of student handbooks and other routine business. Zarsky said the finance department underwent a review during the retreat and that board policy reviews will continue.
The board also recognized instructional work and school achievements: Century presented a kindergarten writing program, High Point was named a Professional Learning Community promising practices school, and the board received a governance team award from the Missouri School Boards Association.
Zarsky said MSBA delegate Alex Bryant reported on the MSBA summer summit and that the district will review recently passed legislative measures to determine their effect on Nixa Public Schools. For more information and materials from the board meeting, the district posted resources at www.nixapublicschools.net/schoolboard.
