PENDLETON — South Madison Community School Corp. teachers have a new one-year contract, while district administrators also received a pay increase.
The employment contracts, an academic report from administrators at East Elementary School and a renewal of health insurance were some of the topics of a recent board meeting.
The board ratified the contract with the South Madison Classroom Teachers Association at the request of Superintendent Joe Buck.
Teachers receiving an effective or highly effective rating on their evaluation for the 2017-18 school year will advance one row on the 2018-19 salary matrix, which will reflect a salary increase of 1.7 to 3 percent.
The association ratified the proposed contract in October. Buck thanked association President Heidi Moore for being great to work with during negotiations and in all areas during the school year.
In June, Buck and the board had approved a one-year extension of administrative contracts and said the contracts would be revisited once the teacher contract was ratified for any increases.
With the teacher contract ratified, Buck recommended a 1 percent increase to the administrative contracts, which the board approved.
On another employee issue, the board approved business manager Ken McCarty’s request to renew the corporation’s health insurance with Unified Group Services and HM Life Insurance Co.
In other board news:
• Assistant Superintendent Laura Miller shared information regarding a cultural exchange experience. East Elementary fifth-grade teacher Robin Hart has been selected to be a part of a teacher exchange program; she will visit Brazil for three weeks in June. A teacher from Brazil will visit Pendleton for a similar length of time in January.
• East Elementary Principal Andrew Kruer and Assistant Principal Brandon DeHart presented the East Elementary annual academic report to the board.
Kruer shared with the board the school’s goal of 90 percent passing math and reading. He also discussed ISTEP 2017-18, with Grades 3-6 all placing above state average. Kruer said while the scores are not at the 90 percent goal, they are improving.
Among the other highlights, he said he was also pleased about the school’s I-READ mark of 99.1 passing and the improvement of attendance to a 97.3 percent rate.
The administrators also shared how the building is working toward goals, growing and teaching students. They shared a video of Pendleton Heights High School students working with their students as mentors, on homework, or just talking and playing a game.
This is a positive impact for both elementary and high school students, school leaders said.
