Some Wayne Township educators are unhappy with a new teachers’ contract approved this month.
The Wayne Township school board voted unanimously on Monday, Nov. 24, to accept a single-year contract that would give teachers a one-time, $1,000 bonus.
The agreement, however, brings no raises to teachers’ salaries and, some educators said, does little to keep up with increases in insurance premiums this year.
“I’ve never been so disappointed in negotiations and a contract,” Danelle Engel, a teacher with more than 30 years’ experience, told board members before their vote. She was one of about a dozen teachers who attended the meeting to protest the contract.
The Wayne Township school board approved the changes after several weeks of bargaining, negotiated as schools across the state plan to take in less property tax revenue in the coming years.
The Wayne board also voted in the same meeting to increase its own salary, following a recent change in state law that allows board members to make up to 10% of the salary of its lowest paid teacher.
Other school districts in central Indiana, such as Warren and Washington townships, have discussed or adopted similar changes this month. In Wayne Township, that means school board members’ pay will increase from $2,000 a year to $5,250, Superintendent Jeff Butts said.
During the same meeting, the board approved one-year contracts with other staff and administrators. The staff contract provides a one-time bonus equivalent to 2% of staff members’ base salary, up to $1,000. Administrators will receive a $1,000 bonus.
“Our teachers earn every penny that they make,” Butts said. “If we have more revenue coming in, we have always worked extremely hard to make sure that we get that to the classroom where it belongs.”
Property tax bill drives salary decisions
Educators said members of the Wayne Township Classroom Teachers Association, which bargains contracts on behalf of teachers, voted down contract proposals twice before accepting the agreement brought to the school board Nov. 24.
That agreement was approved by the association, with 63% of members voting in favor, Butts said during the Nov. 24 meeting, before it came before the school board. Some teachers, however, said they felt pressured into accepting the third proposal out of fear they would otherwise have to enter a state-directed process called mediation.
Butts told Mirror Indy after the meeting that, following a conversation with state officials, he was worried the state board that directs mediation would have recommended decreasing teachers’ salaries this year to avoid going into a deficit. Teachers said administrators shared the same information with them before their final vote.
“I’ve been in the township for 31 years and we’ve never had to go to mediation over a contract,” Engel told Mirror Indy after the meeting. “Teachers were just not sure what that looked like so that’s where, for us, what was a little scary.”
The contract negotiation comes as Wayne Township convenes a 300-person commission to evaluate ways to cut spending in light of changes to Indiana’s property tax law this year.
The recent changes are expected to bring less property tax revenue to school districts than they had anticipated in coming years. Wayne Township is also planning conservatively with the knowledge that a separate, taxpayer-supported referendum is due to expire in 2027.
“It’s all interrelated,” Butts told Mirror Indy after the meeting.
The superintendent said this is the first time in several years that insurance premiums have gone up and the district’s contract bargaining teams have historically prioritized funding pay increases rather than insurance contributions.
The contract includes an additional $500 contribution per adult to teachers’ health savings accounts, the superintendent said, as well as another $1,000 health savings account incentive.
Butts, who has been with Wayne Township for 20 years, also said hopes a single-year contract would allow the district to offer more to teachers sooner if changes to state law improve Wayne’s financial outlook.
Related
What will falling property tax revenue mean for Marion County school districts?
Though schools got a bump in state funding, educators are bracing for change under this year’s property tax reform.
Teachers hope for raise next year
Teachers, however, pointed to raises being negotiated this year in other nearby districts.
IPS, for example, just agreed to give its teachers a minimum raise of at least $1,510 this year and $1,010 next year. That’s slightly less than past salary increases, but something a bargaining representative for IPS teachers said they were happy to accept given the questions about financial stability in their district.
Wayne Township teachers say they hope their school board members are keeping an eye on what’s happening in nearby districts and carry this knowledge into next year’s bargaining.
“I fear that if you don’t listen to your teachers now,” teacher Nancy Webster told the board, “you are going to lose quite a few of our talented teachers to the surrounding districts or to different occupations altogether.”
The negotiations come amid a period of change in the district. A new superintendent — Shenia Suggs, the district’s current assistant superintendent of human resources — is expected to take over in January. And, the school board seeks to fill a vacancy after the death of 31-year member Mike Nance.
Interested candidates can apply for the school board position through Nov. 30. The board intends to appoint a new member during its Dec. 15 meeting.
About our reporting
This article was published as part of a partnership between Chalkbeat Indiana, WFYI, and Mirror Indy to increase coverage of township school districts in Marion County.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Mirror Indy reporter Carley Lanich covers early childhood and K-12 education. Contact her at carley.lanich@mirrorindy.org or follow her on X @carleylanich.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
