Centre school board approves salary hikes
Sick leave banks established
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Four members of the board of education of Centre USD #397 met Monday in special session to approve contracts with district employees.
After a 10-minute executive session, the board in open session approved a negotiated agreement ratified by Centre Teachers Association.
It provides a salary increase of 4.51 percent, raising base pay by $1,260 to $29,200. The overall cost to the district will be about five percent.
The board also approved an increase in supplemental payments from 8 to 10 percent of base for the K-4 head teacher and from 12 to 15 percent of base for the 5-12 head teacher.
Provision for a "sick leave bank" was added to the contracts. Participation is voluntary. The bank was established to provide assistance to certified employees who have exhausted their sick leave and personal leave and are suffering from an extended injury or illness.
Members will donate one day per year to the bank. If the bank balance is below 42 days, members may contribute an additional day.
Members requiring additional days off due to extended injury or illness may borrow bank days using established procedures.
Classified employees
Classified employees received an approximate 5 percent increase in pay.
The board met in executive session for 10 minutes before granting the pay raise in open session.
Classified employees also were granted two personal leave days per year with no carry-over or reimbursement, retroactive to June 30, 2005.
A sick leave bank was established for classified employees.
Transportation director Steve Smith will be driving a bus route and was granted an additional $3,050 in compensation.
Elementary school aide Sharon Matz will receive a 43 cents per hour wage increase because of added responsibilities.
Technology systems technician Russ Hake will receive an additional $2,446.67 in compensation for extra hours of work.
Under legislation passed by the state and approved by the courts, the school district will receive $97,602 in general fund revenue from the state, based on the previous year's enrollment.
Approximately $60,644 of that will go to teachers' salaries and $7,273 to classified employees.
A source close to the board said the increases were necessary to keep teachers in education, especially in the areas of math and science, where private jobs are more lucrative.
The new budget has not yet been developed. It is hoped the additional funds from the state will eliminate the need for a local option budget (lob) mill levy increase.
