Teachers at Clark-Pleasant schools will get a salary boost in line with an increase in education funding from the state.
The district’s school board approved teacher contracts for the 2020-21 school year along with the 2022 budget during its meeting Tuesday. The minimum teacher salary will increase from $41,000 to $45,000, while the top teacher salary will increase from $82,997 to $87,997, said Jay Staley, the school district’s business director.
The raises come from the $47.5 million education fund, which is part of the $93.7 million overall budget, up more than $12 million compared to the 2021 budget of $81.6 million. As part of that increase, the education budget is up $5 million from the 2021 fund, according to school district documents.
If approved as is by the Department of Local Government Finance, the new budget would also increase property taxes to $2.05 for every $100 of assessed value. But after the Department of Local Government Finance approves the budget, the property tax rate might actually be less than it is now, Staley said.
Last year, the school board passed a budget that would have put property taxes at $1.95, but after approval from the Department of Local Government Finance, that dropped to $1.67 for every $100 of assessed value, according to state budget documents.
Extra funding from the state, along with the inflated tax levy as the budget awaits department approval, helped contribute to increases in the school board approved budget, Staley said in an email.
Clark-Pleasant schools allotted $24 million to the operations fund, an increase of $3 million from the 2021 budget. The operations fund pays salaries of employees who aren’t specifically tied to education, such as bus drivers, custodians and food service works, as well as administrators who aren’t tied to a specific school building, such as the superintendent and assistant superintendents.
As part of the operations budget, administrators will receive a 4% increase in their salaries, while support staff will receive a 4% raise along with a $1,000 one-time stipend, Staley said.
Another $2.1 million of the budget is allotted towards the referendum fund, an increase of $80,000 from the 2021 budget. The referendum fund comes from a property tax increase voters in Clark and Pleasant townships approved in 2018. The hike of 10 cents for every $100 of assessed property value pays for school safety, including the Clark-Pleasant Police Department, and mental health, including two full-time clinical licensed therapists.
The rainy day fund, an emergency reserve for the school district, includes $500,000, the same amount it did last year.
The remaining $19.6 million in the budget will go toward debt service, an increase of more than $4 million over the 2021 budget. The debt service fund covers any projects the district undertakes that haven’t been paid off. Contributing to that increase, the school district took out $5 million in bonds to purchase school buses, lighting upgrades and to pay for a solar project at Clark-Pleasant Middle School, Staley said.
The budget will now head to the Indiana Department of Local Government Finance for approval, which typically takes place toward the end of the calendar year.
