Early-bird teachers contract approved, tax rate unchanged in Jeannette

The Jeannette City School District property tax millage rate will remain unchanged for the 2023-24 school year, and new positions will help students with internships and teachers manage classrooms and learning.

Plus, teachers will earn more starting in the 2024-25 school year under a new contract struck between the education association and the district.

The $22.5 million budget was approved unanimously by school directors this week, business manager Patricia Dellinger said.

There are three new positions in the district:

• A full-time school psychologist. The district previously worked with a contracted employee for the job, Dellinger said.

• An instructional coach. The veteran teacher assuming this position will act as a mentor with instructors to help them in any aspect of the educational process, including classroom management, superintendent Matthew Jones said.

“We’ve added a lot of new staff in the past couple years,” he said. “It’s another layer of support we can provide our teachers.”

• A transition and internship coordinator. An internship program for high school students is being started in county districts through the Westmoreland Workforce Development Plan with federal pandemic relief funding directed its way by the county commissioners. It will be coordinated through the Economic Growth Connection of Westmoreland, a private nonprofit agency that promotes county development.

The district’s coordinator will work with students attending internships at local businesses starting this fall.

“We’ve got several students signed up for that,” Jones said. “It’s a first for us, and we’re very excited about it.”

The coordinator also will work with special needs students to ensure they’re on the right path for graduation.

Early bird contract

Increasing starting salaries for teachers was a driving force behind negotiating a new deal with the Jeannette Education Association, according to Jones, Dellinger and president Paul Shifko.

The updated rates will make the small district more competitive with larger ones, Jones said.

“When we’re looking to hire folks, we weren’t getting the number of people you’d expect,” he said.

Members of the association understood the importance of it, Shifko said.

“We really do appreciate from the association that the board recognized that we had a real issue there,” he said.

The starting salary for a new teacher with a bachelor’s degree in the 2023-24 school year is $42,344. When the new contract takes effect for the 2024-25 school year, that amount will rise to $48,025. Salaries will increase for all teachers under the new pact.

A new teacher would start the 2028-29 school year, the last one in the contract, at $50,025, and teachers will reach the maximum salary after 16 years of service.

Both sides said the agreement was the result of a cooperative effort.

In addition, teachers will be paid to work an additional 15 minutes every day, amounting to an eight-hour work day, Dellinger said.