The Knox Community School Corporation is on track to beat the state’s target for teacher pay. Superintendent Dr. William Reichhart says the proposed teacher contract would raise the starting salary to $40,700, with a new maximum salary of $65,715.
“We feel that that is a significant increase,” he told the school board last week. “That’s about 11 percent from our current base. And we received extra funding from the state, which we certainly appreciate, and also, it’s in gratitude to our teachers for all of the work that they did during COVID and eLearning or virtual learning and continues through this year.”
Increases for current teachers would be based on teacher evaluations and experience. Reichhart said that while the state’s goal is a $40,000 starting salary, he felt they had the money to exceed that slightly, to help attract teachers.
Other proposed changes in the contract include the addition of coaching positions for new junior high softball and baseball teams, along with a new restriction on teachers’ personal leave. Teachers who want to use more than three personal days in a row would first have to get Reichhart’s approval. “Sometimes, these get tacked on to spring break and so teachers are out for three weeks, or fall break and they’re out for two weeks,” Reichhart explained. “So it must be approved by me, and [the Knox Federation of Teachers] and the administration agreed to that change.”
The 2021-2022 teacher contract will be up for the Knox School Board’s approval on November 2.
