Greensburg Salem employees slated for salary, health insurance increases in new contract

Greensburg Salem employees will receive an average annual salary increase of more than 3% across the next five years through a contract approved by the school board.

The contract grants an average annual salary increase of 3.19% each year to nearly 200 teachers, nurses and psychologists in the district, Superintendent Ken Bissell said.

The starting salary for district employees is $55,560, and senior employee compensation is $84,045. By the 2028-29 school year, salaries will increase to $57,560 and $90,127, respectively, Bissell said.

The Greensburg Salem Education Association could not be reached for comment on the contract.

The contract also requires employees to contribute an additional $15 per month to their insurance plans through the 2028-29 school year to account for rising health care costs, board President Jeff Metrosky said.

Language adjustments were made to several sections of the contract, Bissell said, including Family and Medical Leave Act provisions, emergency certifications, Individualized Education Program paperwork and teacher planning times.

“I call it ‘language cleanup,’ ” Bissell said. “Where there may have been confusion in the past, we hopefully cleaned up a lot of those confusing areas.”

Negotiations on the contract started in February, concluding with a unanimous vote by the school board Wednesday.

“Now they know where they’ll be for the next five years,” Bissell said. “It allows us to focus directly on the children.”