HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The USD 308 Board of Education ratified its contract with its teachers on Monday. The union approved the deal this past Thursday. Under the new contract, the base pay for teachers will go up $669 to $42,000. The increase will also go across the board. Teachers will also receive horizontal and vertical movement for the upcoming school year, making the overall raise between 3% and 3.5% for all certified faculty and staff.
One of the new items this year for staff is a new parental earned leave. This will allow an employee 10 days per year for parental matters such as child birth, adoption, and foster care matters. The time does not have to be paid back. Also, the contract calls for a solid eight-hour working day and increases the buyback for unused time off from $50 to $100 per day.
The new contract was initially approved back in June after just three negotiation sessions between the district and the union.
Also, Monday's meeting was the annual organizational meeting for the board, where they elected their new President and Vice President.
Greg Meredith was re-elected as the 22-23 President of the USD 308 Board of Education, and Kail Denison was nominated as Vice President.
The Board also established all its regular processes regarding accounting and bill paying for the upcoming year.
The next regularly scheduled Board of Education meeting is Monday, July 25, at 6:00 p.m. at the USD 308 Administrative Center, 1520 N Plum.