South Dearborn Announces Pay Increase For Certified Teachers

The Board of School Trustees voted unanimously to approve the two-year, collective bargaining agreement.

(Aurora, Ind.) – South Dearborn is joining the list of area school corporations to approve pay increases for certified teachers.

Last week, the South Dearborn Board of School Trustees voted unanimously to approve a two-year, collective bargaining agreement that increases the salary of a beginning teacher from $35,500 to $42,000.

Sunman-Dearborn and Batesville schools have also announced recent teacher pay increases.

At South Dearborn, the two-year contract represents an average raise increase of 10.5 percent, which is the highest known increase for teachers in southeastern Indiana.

The new salary grid for staff features four distinct degree or education columns built on $1,000 pay increments – ranging from the new starting pay of $42,000 to $75,000. There will also be a .5 percent increase on the 401a contributions made to teacher retirement plans.

The overall cost to the corporation is nearly $800,000, marking the largest single contribution to certified staff salaries since the consolidation of schools in 1977.

“The corporation has made some very difficult decisions over the last year which has put the district in a favorable position financially.” “We are very fortunate to take this initial step to recognize our outstanding staff and to attract and retain high quality staff in the future”, said Lows. Members of the negotiating team include: Eric Lows, Chris Tanner, Janet Platt, and Shawn Spindler along with Jim Wheat, Todd Bowers, Rachel Ransom, and Shannon Gabbard.

Other conditions of the contract include a one percent increase for all extracurricular activities in 2022-23, along with the addition of more clubs and sponsorships in all buildings including robotics, broadcasting, and eSports.

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