At its Monday, October 12, 2026, regular meeting, the Penn-Harris-Madison Board of School Trustees unanimously approved the 2026–27 P-H-M teachers’ agreement. Click here to view it.
Through a collaborative negotiation process, P-H-M Administration and the P-H-M Teachers Association reached a mutually agreed-upon one-year contract that provides a 1.75% base salary increase for teachers with one or more years of experience.
“P-H-M students’ high performance on IREAD and ILEARN is due in large part to the high-quality instruction our teachers provide,” said P-H-M Superintendent Dr. Heather Short. “P-H-M ranks among the Top 5% of Indiana’s highest-performing school districts because of our teachers. We are pleased to recognize and reward our dedicated educators with a competitive compensation package that reflects the value of their work.”
Starting salary for new teachers holds steady at $50,000, with the maximum salary for P-H-M’s most veteran teachers increasing to $88,296, or $88,546 for those with an Early Literacy Endorsement. These salary adjustments are retroactive to July 1, 2026, and extend through June 30, 2027.
Additional financial compensation includes:
- A one-time $500 retention stipend for teachers rated Effective or Highly Effective who served at least 120 school days with P-H-M during the 2025–26 school year.
- A 0.5% stipend increase for teachers who coach athletic teams or lead extracurricular activities.
New this year are two Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) offering bonus incentives to teachers who meet these criteria:
- $300 attendance incentive: Teachers who use four or fewer sick days during the 2026–27 school year will receive $300 deposited into their Corporation-sponsored retirement accounts at the conclusion of the school year.
- Voluntary sick leave buyout program: Eligible retiring teachers with more than 120 accumulated unused sick days may receive $50 per day for days 121–200 and $100 per day for days 201–250, with a maximum payout of $9,000. Funds will be deposited into the employee’s VEBA account (a tax-advantaged savings account used to cover eligible healthcare expenses during retirement). To qualify, eligible teachers must notify P-H-M of their retirement by March 1, 2027.
Effective January 1, 2027, employee contributions for medical and dental insurance premiums will increase by 5%, while vision insurance premiums will increase by 3.5%, with vision premium rates held for two years.
The Administration reached a tentative agreement on September 24. PHMTA membership ratified the agreement on September 30. It was presented to the P-H-M School Board for a first reading at a special Board meeting on October 7. The second reading was at the October 12th meeting, at which the School Board voted to approve it.
This negotiated agreement reflects P-H-M’s continued investment and commitment to our teachers by continuing to offer among the most competitive salary and benefit packages in the region.
P-H-M Administration is continuing to meet with representatives of its other employer groups to negotiate updates to those agreements. Those contracts will be proposed to the P-H-M Board of School Trustees in the coming weeks.