R-IV School Board passes teacher raises

Meeting in special session on May 31, the Willow Springs R-IV School Board unanimously voted to increase teacher salaries across the district. 

At a motion by Adam Webb, which was seconded by Matt Hobson, the school board approved: 

- 3% increase to the base on the certified salary schedule

- $2,500.00 increase to the base of the custodial, paraprofessional, secretarial, and food service salary schedules

- $1,518.00 to the base of the school nurse salary schedule

- $500.00 to the base for the bus driver's salary schedule

- 1.10 multiplier increase for the school resource officer

- increasing the board-paid cap for the district health insurance plan from $454.00 to $469.00 per eligible employee, per month

During this meeting, the school board also unanimously agreed to participate in a state-funded grant program that will raise the base salary of eligible teachers to $38,000.00 per year. According to Superintendent of Schools Bill Hall, this increase will affect 23 of the district's 130 teachers. The cost to the district will be approximately $14,000.00 because of the cost-sharing with the state, Hall said in a phone interview on Friday.

According to Hall, this minimum salary hike affects a comparatively small group of teachers because the school board has long been "committed to a strong starting salary" for teachers.