Contract Approved Between School District And MOA

At the May 17 Mascoutah School Board Meeting, the VFW presented Neshala Warner with the Teacher of the Year Award. She not only won the award at the local post but also at the VFW district level. Pictured (L-R): Commander Jason Milner, Neshala Warner, and member David DiCenso. Submitted photo

By Keith Gillett
Herald Publications

At its May 17 meeting, the Mascoutah District 19 Board of Education approved a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Mascoutah Teacher Association making changes to the existing contract. The Board has been involved in negotiations to make changes over the past several months.
Changes included a new pay table for classified personnel – the non-certified personnel such as custodians, bus drivers, and teachers aides, and covers the next two years. The upwardly adjusted pay tables reflected a need by the District “to be more competitive in the current environment,” with the minimum wage to be raised to $15, depending on salary schedule.
Some of the increases are: Pay for a beginning building and grounds worker would start at $14.30 per hour for the current year and increase to $16.50 per hour in two years. For beginning building secretaries the pay would start at $14.50 per hour and increase to $16.25 in two years. For Instructional/computer/librarian aides the pay would start at $13.40 per hour and increase to $16.25 in two years. For supervisory aides the beginning wage would start at $13 per hour and increase to $15.90 in two years. For classified nurses the beginning wage would start at $23.30 per hour and increase to $24.70 in two years. For skilled maintenance the pay would start at $22.70 and increase to $24.25 in two years.
Language changes in the current contract including allowing employees with 214 annual days to gain 15 days of sick leave instead of 219 annual days; cut the established academic team time for for grade level teacher from 30 to 20 minutes per day; cut the academic team time for non-grade level teacher from 75 to 50 minutes per week.
An employee may now accept an assignment to cover a class period for another employee for $25 per class period instead of $20. Vacancy notices will now be posted at the District office for five days instead of 14. An individual wanting the position has a minimum of five days to apply instead of 14.
The MOA also increased summer school bonus pay; drivers ed pay will increase from $27 to $30 for behind the wheel instruction.
In other business, the Board approved:
• Reopening the FY22 budget to proceed with amendments in order to add the cost of bond refinancing and land purchase, and to have the FY22 budget hearing on June 21.
The FY22 Fund 30 needs an increase in spending authority of just over $6 million to account for the November 2021 bond refinancing. The final amount is to be determined until the closing of the bond sale, which is why the cost is not included in the original budget.
For Fund 20, the spending authority needs to be adjusted for the purchase amount of 67 acres the Board approved in November 2021 for planning for future growth. The purchase amount was $1,059,600.
• Approved the student fee schedule for next year. Breakfast and lunch prices will increase by ten cents; instructional fees at Mascoutah Middle and Mascoutah High Schools will decrease; the technology student use fee will increase by $5; the MHS student use charge will increase; the MMS student use charge will increase.
• PE uniforms will remain the same price but they must be ordered by families on their own through the District store. MMS will offer and require PE shirts and shorts/leggings while MHS will only require the shirt and allow students to wear their preferred athletic short/leggings.
• Approved the purchase of copier paper for the next school year from Office Essential for $43,976.50.
• Approved the purchase of 67 laptops for the next school year from Trafera for $75,133. The Federal Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) will pay $26,800 of the cost and the purchase is contigent on receiving the funds from ECF.
• Approved the renewal agreement for subscription to Freckle ELA/Math and to Star 360 from Renaissance – Star 360 at $58,128.70 and Freckle ELA/Math at $43,887.60.
• Approved changes to the student handbooks for next school year.
• Approved the regular meeting schedule for the Board, which will continue to meet on the third Tuesday of every month except for Sept. ’22 and Jan. ’23.
• Approved the District’s Risk Management Plan which is designed to guide decisions and manage liability for the District.
The Board approved the following certified personnel changes:
• Hired Chandra Andrews as a math teacher at MMS; Lindsay Bisto as a Special Ed LCL teacher at MHS; Darcy Eisenreich as an ESL teacher for the District; Julie Carlton as a special ed teacher at WES; Danielle Schnable as an ESL teacher at MMS; Morgan Essary as a Kindergarten teacher at MES; Cynthia Simmons as a 5th grade teacher at WES; Allison Davis as a 1st grade teacher at WES; Kaeli Goodwin as a 2nd grade teacher at SES; Lindsey Vander Pol as a special ed teacher at MHS; Emily Grove as a special ed teache at WES; and Laura Yarber as an assistant principal at MES.
• Approved the transfer of Kelly Kettwich from assistant principal at SES to principal at SES; Nicole Schaefer from 5th SES to science teacher at MMS; Kristen Staten from ELA MMS to study skills AVID teacher at MMS; Megan Williams from instructional coach to assistant principal at SES; Trevor Reed from assistant principal at MES to assistant principal at WES; Paolo Dulcamara from assistant principal MMS to director of remote/alternative programming; Stephen Sargent from director of remote/alternative programming to assistant principal at MMS; and Cindy Presnell from assistant superintendent to program and staff development administrator.
The following classified personnel changes were approved:
• Hired Quinn Enriquez, Jennifer Perkins, Kenya Cutchin, Brandon Hensley, and Cameron Gansauer as temporary summer custodians; Anthony Stott as a custodian replacement at MHS; Jennifer Dickson and Jessica Higbee as a special ed aides; Elizabeth Eckert as a pre-K aide at SES; and Robert Sineed as a grounds worker.
• Approved the resignations of Tammi Boisjoli as a supervisor aide at SES; Jennifer Flynn as a preK instructional aide at SES; Lorri Kleeman as a custodian at MHS; Tanya Lackey as a supervisory aide at SES; Jennifer Smith as an individual care aide at WES; Tina Carson as a instructional aide at MHS; Harvey Groennert as a bus aide; and Mildred Neuner as a bus driver.
• Hired the following as ESY paraprofessionals from June 13 to July 8 – Shannon Kowalski, Mary Babcock, Danielle Kimmie, Michelle Padilla, Erin Radford, Erica Cox-Simpson, Olivia Schmidt, Sheri Hurlahe, Sara Reinneck, Melissa Henss, Laurene Campbell, Noel Koller, and Kelsie Bise.
• The Board recognized Tom Williams for his service as a crossing guard, serving students from 2012-22.
• The VFW Teacher of the Year Award was presented to Neshala Warner.