Tonight (Monday, November 9) Penn-Harris-Madison School Corporation’s Board of School Trustees overwhelmingly approved the contract with the district’s teachers. Superintendent Dr. Jerry Thacker and P-H-M Administration presented the tentative agreement between the P-H-M Teachers Association (PHMTA) and the Corporation at tonight’s meeting.
Negotiations between PHMTA and district administration took place in September and October, and a tentative agreement was on Wednesday, October 7 and the PHMTA membership ratified the agreement by an overwhelming margin on Wednesday, October 21.
Under this agreement (effective retroactive to July 1, 2020 and running through June 30, 2021), P-H-M teachers’ starting salary will remain at a very competitive $41,000. The new salary range for P-H-M teachers will range from $41,000 to $71,048.
The agreement covers a one-year period from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. All teachers who have completed one or more years of experience will receive varying combinations of base salary increase and a one-time stipend shown in the following chart:
Teachers with more than one year of experience will receive salary increases ranging from $500 to $1,550, with an average increase of $1,140. Additionally, all teachers, including those in their 1st year, will receive a one-time stipend ranging from $500 to $1,450. Teachers with five or more years of experience, who comprise approximately 80% of our teaching staff, will receive a total of $2,350 between an increase in salary and the one-time stipend.
The P-H-M Board of School Trustees wanted to pay the one-time stipends out of the district’s Rainy Day Fund as a way to express the Board’s appreciation to the exemplar efforts of our teaching staff during these challenging times coping with COVID-19.
This agreement will continue to support P-H-M’s talent acquisition and retentions needs, and keeps the total compensation package as one of the premier offerings in our area.
There will also be a 3% increase in stipend amounts paid to all teachers who also hold Extracurricular and Co curricular coaching/sponsorship responsibilities.
In addition, the agreement includes changes to the Corporation’s health insurance plan. Employee contributions will also increase by a modest 3% starting in January of 2021.
Board Approves Hourly Rate for Substitute Teachers
Also at tonight’s Meeting, the Board of School Trustees approved an increase in the hourly rate paid to substitute teachers by $20 per day as shown below in order to retain and to attract more substitutes:
These changes will be made effective November 9th to coincide with the beginning of a payroll period.
