Daniel: Entire teacher pay schedule must be reviewed with new minimum salary

Unit 5
Unit 5 Superintendent Mark Daniel says the district will find the money this year for new minimum teacher salaries.
(WJBC file photo)

By Greg Halbleib

NORMAL – Unit 5 Superintendent Mark Daniel says the district will likely be able to fund increased minimum teacher salaries recently imposed by the state, at least right away.

Daniel told WJBC’s Scott Laughlin that the district remains in a structural deficit, so he and board members still need to find ways to pay for the jump to $40,000 minimum teacher salaries. He noted the new minimum will have a trickle effect on the rest of the salary schedule.

“It’s not just the $40,000. What about teachers in year two through 17,” Daniel explained. “We’re almost at 1,000 teachers, so that’s a significant amount for us.”

Daniel tells WJBC’s Scott Laughlin the $40,000 minimum salary approved by the General Assembly is $3,000 higher than the current Unit 5 base.

Greg Halbleib can be reached at [email protected]

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