New middle school named and teachers’ salaries increased for NACS

Posted: Oct 30, 2023 / 07:41 PM EDT

Updated: Oct 30, 2023 / 11:12 PM EDT

ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) — Monday, Northwest Allen County Schools finalized the name, mascot and colors of the new middle school along with approval of the Master Teacher Contract for the 2023-2024 school year.

The middle school, officially named Willow Creek Middle School, was created to help ease the effects of rapid population growth, a big concern in the area. Willow Creek Middle School plans to open its doors by the Fall of 2026. NACS announced Monday that the school’s colors will be blue and orange and the official mascot will be the Hawks.

The Master Teacher Contract approval calls for an increase to the minimum base salary from the existing $44,500 to $46,500. The approved contract also increases the maximum base salary for teachers with a Bachelor’s Degree from $71,200 to $74,400 and teachers with a Master’s Degree from $75,650 to $81,375. Increases and changes were also made to the extracurricular salary Schedule, offering overall salary increases, making certain positions more equitable, and focusing on fine arts and emerging sports positions.

The contract will also continue the Performance-Based Salary Compensation Program from previous contracts. In the approved contract eligible NACS teachers will earn approximate salary increases between 5.9% to 9.5%. A more specific breakdown can be seen below;

A teacher completing his/her first year with a Bachelor’s last year who earned professional performance and continuous professional learning will see a salary increase of approximately 8.5%.
The average teacher completing his/her fifth year with a Bachelor’s Degree who earned professional performance, continuous professional learning, and retention will see a salary increase of approximately 9.5%.
The average teacher completing his/her twenty-sixth year with a Master’s who earned professional performance and continuous professional learning will see a salary increase of approximately 5.7%.

The contract also made differences in the contract with Family Illness Leave, Administration of the Sick Leave Bank and adjustments made to the stipend portion of the Performance-Based Salary Compensation Program.