Pike County School Corp. acknowledges it is not meeting Indiana's $45,000 minimum teacher salary

Superintendent Thelma told the Pike County School Corporation board that the district is currently not meeting the minimum teacher salary established by Indiana Code 20-28-9-26.

"We're currently failing to meet the minimum teacher salary of $45,000 that was established by Indiana code," the superintendent said during the financial review portion of the meeting. She told the board the district received a letter from the relevant state agency and that statute requires three forms of public acknowledgement: an on-the-record statement during the meeting, inclusion of the acknowledgement in the official minutes, and publication of the notice on the district website after the meeting.

Board members were not asked to adopt a budget motion in response at the meeting; the acknowledgement was recorded as required. The business officer presented the district's bank reconciliations and fund balances during the same portion of the agenda, including a German American account balance of $6,349,951.89 and an education fund balance of $212,292.86, figures the superintendent and business officer described while outlining budget constraints.

The superintendent did not outline a specific salary-increase plan at the meeting but the board approved engaging Harmon Consulting Service to support budget-cycle planning and compliance work. The superintendent later said the district will publish the required notice on its website and include the acknowledgement in the meeting minutes.

Next steps: district staff are to post the required statutory notice on the district website and include the acknowledgement in the official minutes; the board did not take an immediate supplemental-budget vote at this session.