Nettle Creek teachers will see a 3% increase in base pay for 2025-26 under terms of a tentative contract that the school board will vote on Nov. 6.
Base pay will be $47,000 under the contract terms, an increase from $45,000 this year.
Teachers who are rated as effective or highly effective will get $1,125 more, and those who work at least 120 days will get $750 additional. Teachers who earn a master’s degree will get an added $1,000.
Average pay for Nettle Creek’s 75 teachers and school counselors will be $59,568, nearly $2,000 more than the current school year.
The local figure is slightly lower than the 2022-23 state average in Indiana. Teacher pay averaged $60,557, the first time it has exceeded $60,000, according to the state teacher compensation report by the Indiana Education Employment Relations Board.
Statewide annual salaries averaged $56,609 in 2021-2022 and $53,991 in 2020-21. The minimum state pay for teachers is $40,000, according to Indiana Capital Chronicle, which reported the results.
State Sen. Jeff Raatz, R-Richmond, who chairs the Senate education committee, and other Republicans praised the new salary report in a weekly email to constituents.
Raatz also pointed to a 2023 law he sponsored that ensures at least 62% of schools’ state tuition support is used for teacher salaries and benefits.
Nettle Creek Superintendent Emily Schaeffer told the board that the new contract allocates about 61% of the education fund – tuition support – for teacher salaries, up from this year’s 54%. Getting to the state-mandated 62% level will be one of the challenges in a future negotiation. It requires reallocating other expenses in the education fund.
Teachers will also see a 14% contribution to their health insurance, 5% more than currently.
The contract also clarifies language in sick day buyback policy and sick bank provisions, changes the names of several extracurricular activity positions and adds a $750 stipend for two new extracurricular activity positions.
“I think we were really pleased there was something for everybody,” said Peggy Mueller, the head negotiator for the Nettle Creek Teachers Association. She and Schaeffer agreed the negotiation process went smoothly.
Board member Julie Blaase said she’s heard discussion that some teachers wish health insurance costs could be allocated differently. There is currently one rate for single-person coverage and another for family coverage, no matter how many family members. Blaase asked if future negotiations could include a review of whether the family rate could be changed to reflect the actual number of people covered.
Board member Dan Davis Jr. said he is pleased that the school budget has allowed better teacher pay. He recalled starting pay of about $28,000 when he was first elected to the board eight years ago. With economic inflation, a teacher making that amount in 2016 would have to make over $36,000 in 2024 to have the same spending power, before any other compensation increases.
The next board meeting, which includes contract ratification, starts at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, in the Hagerstown Elementary LGI room, 299 N. Sycamore St. The public may attend.
A version of this article appeared in the November 6 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.