Carl Junction teachers to receive pay increase

CARL JUNCTION, Mo. — Teachers in the Carl Junction School District are getting a boost in pay.

The board of education decided to give all of their teachers a $1,000 raise.

The district says the raise is the largest pay increase they have given over the past seven years.

“We love our teachers,” said Dr. Phillip Cook, Carl Junction superintendent. “We need our teachers and not just teachers — we need our entire staff.”

The raise, which was approved Monday, will take effect during the 2021-22 school year.

They will then calculate how much of a raise support staff will receive.

“Basically, what we do is add an amount to our teacher salary schedule,” said Cook. “Then we have some calculations that we use to average out the rates for our support staff and administrators and everyone else in the district. So some of our staff members if they have a lower salary, it may be actually be more than 4.06 percent.”

Cook says the district does not have a problem retaining teachers — but the increase in pay could keep teachers who might want to switch professions.

“If someone’s on the fence thinking ‘I dont want to be a teacher anymore — I want to go do something different — it may encourage them to stay in,” said Cook. “Typically, it’s not pay that keeps teachers in the profession. It’s the intangibles. Its the culture of your district.”

The board also approved funding for three new school buses Monday.

“We want to make sure we are transporting our students in safe vehicles,” said Dr. David Pyle, assistant superintendent for operations. “As vehicles get older, like any other, you will have more issues and higher cost of operation because you’re going to have recurring maintenance. So, its just an effort to keep our fleet updated, modern and safe.”

The district will purchase three full-size 74-passenger school buses, which will cost more than $300,000.

The district will retire its three oldest buses and auction them off.

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