The Hutchinson USD 308 Board of Education approved a revision to the classified handbook for the district, raising the entry wage for classified employees to $14 an hour.
Deputy Superintendent Krystal Young spoke to the board about the necessity to raise the wage. She said that current positions are not getting enough applicants and that the district needed to incentivize new candidates to apply.
“We were sitting at 27 open applicants that were paying at less than $12 an hour,” Young said. “For some of those positions, we were only seeing one or two applicants. Other positions saw zero applicants.”
Young said that the district is the largest employer in the city and the district needed to be more competitive with other businesses in terms of wages to hire more employees. She added that the boost will happen after the new year.
“Hutchinson Public Schools is the largest employer in Hutchinson. About 53% are making under that $14. We want to honor the staff and see that they get that wage adjustment,” Young said. “Our HR and payroll team have worked a lot. We came forward with moving the base to $14. We can look at this change happening in January.”
She said that over half of the staff will be receiving that adjustment as well as new hires to the district.
“Over 50% of our staff will see a wage scale adjustment. We want to make sure any new staff isn’t making more than those who have already served us,” Young said.
When asked by President Valarie Gibson-Smith about how the district will adjust to afford the jump in pay, Young said that the district will look at the budget and make financial changes, if necessary.
“We will have to have some different shifts, which we’ve done before,” Young said.
Board member Kail Denison said that she is supportive of the measure and that the district must support educators and classified staff to have the best support possible for district students.
“This feels like a big jump. I feel like this is an absolutely necessary change. I do think that 53% of our staff living with this wage is rough,” Denison said. “We can’t cut in the classroom with our kids.”
The board approved the revision unanimously.
Randy Norwood of Hutchinson Public Schools spoke to the board about installing an upgraded fire alarm system. He said that the district was recommended to install a system in the event of an intruder.
“We’re looking to upgrade the system at the high school for better communication in the case of a lockdown for an intruder. The recommendation was to provide a visual effect to see, which would be strobe lights,” Norwood said.
Board Member Cheryl Thompson asked Norwood if the strobe lights would have any impact on epileptics or those who have sensitivities to strobe lights. Superintendent Dr. Dawn Johnson told Thompson that companies have taken those measures into consideration and changed the frequencies in the lights to deter potential issues.
When asked about the funding, Norwood said that the money would be split between the district and the state.
“The funding from this is a 50/50 split. We’ll pay for half and the state pays the other,” Norwood said.
The board approved the proposal.
In other items, the board:
Approved a motion to install Luxury Vinyl Tile in Morgan and McCandless Elementary Schools.
Announced that the final day of the semester is Dec. 20 and a half day for students, but a full day for teachers.
Commemorated Gibson-Smith and Board Member Ron Fisher for their last board meeting with refreshments and plaques.
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