The Centralia City Grade School Board and Teachers Association has reached a three year contract agreement that calls for a ten-percent salary increase in the first year followed by three percent increases in the following two years.
Superintendent Craig Clark says the agreement comes following a survey of teaching salaries in the region.
“Some cases are a lot below in pay in what other districts were paying. Finding it a hindrance to filling positions. There have been at least 8 open teaching positions open through the entire year some even going back to last year and we are looking at even adding possibly 12-13 position to that to fill. What we were seeing is that many of those positions were going unfilled and part of that was we just weren’t competitive in the salary range.”
Clark says they also learned in exit interviews some staff were leaving for better paying jobs in other districts. He reports the 10-percent raise puts them ahead of most other districts and increases pay for a starting teacher to $47,000 a year. Clark adds the district has worked hard on its finances and can afford the increases.
The board and the non-certified staff still have to work out a new contract. Clark hopes it can also be completed before the end of the school year so everything is set for when school resumes in August.
In other action, the board acted on a number of personnel issues. They included accepting the resignations of Jennifer Woodside as Jordan Paraprofessional, Iana Watson as Bus Monitor and Mike Lambert as Centralia Junior High School Baseball Coach. The board dismissed custodian Larry Kimmel and bus monitors Chris Ray and Cheryl Peterson. A transfer was approved for Jamie Dudley from First Grade Teacher to Schiller Resource Teacher and Chris Meyer from Classroom Paraprofessional to grounds/custodian personnel. The board hired Tracy DeVore as individual paraprofessional at Jordan School.
The board learned Jaxon Hancock was honored as the Illinois Principal’s Association student of the year for Centralia Junior High School.
