Raises approved for all staff

Raises and other contract changes for teachers, administrators and support staff are in place.

Jay School Board approved an agreement with Jay Classroom Teachers Association as well as updates for other employees during its special meeting Monday.

“I thought the contract work went well,” said board president Ron Laux. “I appreciate all of those involved … I really do appreciate all the efforts … It shows collective agreement …”

The agreement, which the teachers association previously approved unanimously, calls for an average raise of 4.5% and a base salary of $47,503 for first-year teachers. Those with a literacy endorsement would get an additional $500.

The raises are broken down by evaluation ($1,500 for those who receive a rating above “ineffective”), experience ($800 for those who worked 120 days or more in the previous school year) and education ($200 for those with a master’s degree). Teachers with 30 years or more of experience are guaranteed a raise of $2,300 for those with a bachelor’s degree and $2,500 for those with a master’s degree.

Salary increases are also slated for several teachers because of their “invaluable contributions to Jay School Corporation.”

The agreement also adds a weight room supervisor position while eliminating several adviser positions for clubs that are no longer active.

Teachers association negotiator Paul Szymczak noted another change that vests teachers in the retirement plan if they can no longer teach because of disability or death, provided they meet requirements for age and years of service. Previously, retirement was required to collect benefits.

“Recognizing that there could be the potential for death or permanent disability … this still allows them to take their funds with them,” said Szymczak, who concurred with Laux about the cooperative nature of the negotiations. “It’s a benefit we never want to be able to benefit from, but that to me … was a big one. Because you never know. You would hate somebody who’s in the worst time of their life … to all of a sudden realize there’s however many thousands of dollars out the door … when they might need it the most.”

Gulley proposed raises of 3.3% for administrators and 50 cents per hour for support staff up to 3.3%. Those increases push salaries to $155,375 for the superintendent, $103,246 for the assistant superintendent, $128,748 for the junior-senior high principal and $102,325 for elementary school principals.

All staff will see increases in contributions to health insurance of $800 to $8,000 for single plans and $17,200 for family plans. They will also all see an increase of 0.25 percentage points in the school corporation’s contributions to their retirement plans.

“I think it’s good for morale that we’re seeing all groups move, not singling any group out,” said Jay School Corporation superintendent Jeremy Gulley.

Board members Ron Laux, Donna Geesaman, Marcie Vormohr, Chip Phillips, Aaron Clark and Chad Towell, with Jon Eads absent, unanimously approved the agreement with Jay Classroom Teachers Association and the administrator and support staff compensation updates.

Also Monday, the board increased substitute rates to $119 per day for certified teachers and $100 for non-certified teachers. Transportation trip rates were increased to $28 for the first and second hours and $15.50 for the third hour and beyond, with a minimum of $62.

The board’s next meeting, which is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 17, will include a vote on the proposed school calendar for 2026-27. It calls for a start date of Wednesday, Aug. 12, and an end date of May 26, the Wednesday before Memorial Day.