The Plymouth School Board tabled a decision on this year’s Teacher Appreciation Grant distribution, after Superintendent Andy Hartley apparently forgot to discuss it with the Plymouth Education Association.
Hartley brought the proposed policy to the school board last week, with no major changes from the previous two years. Teachers rated “effective” or “highly effective” would each get a stipend, with the amount going to highly-effective rated teachers being 25 percent more. But Plymouth Education Association President Laura Kruyer said the distribution hadn’t been discussed with PEA, as it had in past years.
Hartley apologized for the oversight. “We’ve done it so many times now. It just, I think, escaped me, us,” he said.
The policy has to be submitted to the Indiana Department of Education by the close of business on Tuesday. Board members agreed to hold off on a decision and approve the policy when they meet for their budget hearing next week. That, in turn, required the budget hearing to be moved up a day from Tuesday to Monday.
The 2021 budget proposal totals almost $36 million, with an Education Fund of over $20 million and an Operations Fund of almost $9 million. During last week’s budget workshop, Business Manager Kandi Tinkey noted that the property tax cap continues to be a challenge. She said the amount of revenue lost to the tax cap has increased from $180,000 when it first took effect, to an estimated $1.1 million next year. That mainly affects the Operations Fund. The Education Fund used to pay teachers is funded by the state, based on enrollment.
Monday’s budget hearing starts at 7:00 p.m. Those who would like to attend in person should email rdavidson@plymouth.k12.in.us by 10 a.m. Monday to reserve a seat. The meeting will also be available by phone at 609-438-1282 PIN: 766 066 803#. Public comments may be emailed to ahartley@plymouth.k12.in.us.
