Jackson teachers will receive a 3 percent raise

Editor's note: This story has been modified from its original version to correct Wade Bartels' title.

Teachers in the Jackson School District will earn 3 percent more next year because of an across-the-board raise for certified staff.

That means the base salary for beginning teachers will rise from $34,000 a year to $34,700 annually, as approved by the school board at its meeting Tuesday night.

Additional monies will be available for teachers with higher educational attainment and years of service.

The board also unanimously approved the district’s $51 million estimated budget for the 2016-2017 school year.

Associate superintendent of finance and business operations Wade Bartels said 67 percent to 70 percent of the overall budget is devoted to salaries and benefits; capital expenditures and supplies consume most of the rest.

He pointed out, however, while quality staff are important to the district and its high educational standards, the average annual expenditure per student is $7,590 compared to $10,314 for the rest of the state.

He also tipped his hat to the district’s recent growth.

“This year, we grew by 2.58 percent, which is very strong growth for our school district,” he said.

Assistant superintendent Beth Emmendorfer, who presented a program evaluation for special-education services, said the process occurs every two years to gauge how the district is doing compared to elsewhere in the state.

The comparison is made according to a 14-point scale that includes how students with disabilities perform on statewide assessments and the number who graduate or drop out.

In Jackson, the number of youths with individual education plans, or IEPs, who graduated with a regular diploma was nearly 68 percent, although the state’s target is greater than 75 percent.

“This is something our high-school team looks at closely,” Emmendorfer said.

In terms of statewide assessments, special-education students in Jackson exceeded expectations with 100 percent participation in mathematics and communications arts testing. The state target for both is greater than 95 percent.

The expected proficiency rate on those tests is expected to be greater than 25 percent in communications arts, with 25.1 percent considered proficient in Jackson. The expectation for math is greater than 28 percent statewide, but only 14.4 percent of special-education students scored proficient on the local level.

In tracking the number of students with IEPs who enrolled in higher education after high school, the state’s expectation is greater than 24.4 percent. In Jackson, the number is only slightly lower at 24.2 percent.

“We want to look at all options for students post-high school,” Emmendorfer said, whether that means vocational education or the workforce.

In other business:

• Lunch and breakfast prices for students throughout the district will remain the same as last year.
• All teachers are being issued Chromebook laptops so they can get used to the devices before students get them.
• Opening bids for a new baseball field will be taken later this month.

ljones@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3652

Pertinent address:

614 E. Adams St., Jackson, Mo.