FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE)— Fort Wayne Community Schools adopted their 2024 budget and also officially approved pay increases for teachers and other staff at Monday’s meeting.

The 2024 budget is nearly 8% higher than this year’s. The district’s Capital Projects Plan and School Bus Replacement Plan were also approved with this budget adoption.

The agreement reached with teachers was a 3% pay increase for next year and a 1% increase for the following year. The same pay increases were also approved for non-unionized staff.

According to Superintendent Mark Daniel, with this budget, the starting base salary for teachers in the district is around $47,000 per year.

“We want to reward our teachers and our other staff,” Daniel said. “So, we’ve gone through all of our contracts. We’re very pleased that this has been finalized. And this evening is when the board finally approves it.”

Daniel admitted that he would like that number for teachers to be higher, but it all depends on state funding. Additionally, he is appreciative of the increase in funding the district has received from the state this year.

Daniel hopes this is the beginning of an initiative to attract new teachers to the district not just from Allen County, but from across the state as the city of Fort Wayne grows.