The Gary Teachers Union has reached a tentative contract agreement with the school district that provides a 3% raise and up to $7,000 in incentives for reaching certain bench marks.
Teachers union President GlenEva Dunham said teachers ratified the agreement Dec. 17 after two days of talks with a state-appointed mediator. It’s retroactive from Aug. 1 and expires July 1, she said.
The state Distressed Unit Appeal Board, which oversees the state-controlled district, gave its conditional approval to the contract Tuesday.
District manager Paige McNulty said the raise will increase the average beginning teacher salary to about $48,000. Gary has about 215 teachers.
The district also held a virtual public meeting Tuesday to review proposed contract changes and it will hold a public meeting on Monday to adopt and sign the contract.
The Indiana Educational Employment Relations Board must receive the signed contract by the end of the year.
“This tentative agreement also highlights the need for our performance as a district to improve,” said McNulty in a statement. “By including these incentives and bench marks, we hope to see improvements across the board, especially in academics.”
Teachers will have the opportunity to earn up to $3,000 based on their attendance and up to $1,000 for remaining with the district. Nationwide staffing challenges led the district to advocate for these bench marks.
Teachers can also earn up to $3,000 related to performance-based incentives. Examples include the percentage of students making progress in English language arts and math and, for high school teachers, the graduation rate.
“We hope these incentives will help raise everyone’s performance and ultimately lead to more support and better outcomes for our students,” said McNulty.
“As educators, we understand that we are still under state control and that negotiations are a two-way street,” said Dunham.
“The stipends that we’ve negotiated are doable, and I believe all my fellow educators will strive to go beyond what is needed to teach their students.”
The terms of the tentative agreement are posted on the district’s website and its Facebook page.
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
