Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. board members are set to consider approval of a tentative collective bargaining agreement reached between the district and the local teachers’ union.
The school board on Monday night heard some details about the tentative agreement between BCSC and the the Columbus Educator’s Association (CEA) that, if approved, will last from 2025 through 2027. The board will consider ratification of the agreement during a special meeting meeting on Oct. 29.
BCSC teacher and CEA bargaining team member Mandy Keele talked through the tentative agreement along with Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Erin Stalbaum.
Bargaining topics during negotiations surround how teachers are compensated, and do not include hours and job descriptions. Informal meetings on the new agreement began in May, with formal bargaining getting started on Sept. 17.
The tentative agreement was reached on Oct. 1 and approved by CEA on Oct. 9 and Oct. 10, with 89.7% of CEA members voting in favor.
Teacher salaries will be increased $850 across the board in 2025-26, followed by another $1,500 increase in 2026-27, although that can’t exceed the maximum teacher salary of $96,350, which also includes referendum-related increases. In other words, base salaries are being increased about 1.5% in 2025-26, followed by another 2.5% bump in 2026-27.
But before delving into details, Keele discussed some of the “future financial headwinds” the district is facing given a drop in enrollment this fall and the unknown implications of Senate Enrolled Act (SEA) 1.
A decline in the district’s average daily membership (ADM) and $3.6 million in property tax cap losses as a result of SEA 1 are squeezing BCSC’s education and operations funds.
The district’s ADM is down about 220 students for the 2025-26 school year, Keele said. ADM is used by the Indiana Department of Education to allocate state funding to go towards school district’s education funds, which are used to pay for things like teacher salaries and classroom materials.
Keele pointed out to school board members that the decline in ADM means the district is losing about $1.65 million in state supported tuition towards the education fund. In addition, Bartholomew County’s certified net assessed value, which determines the size of the local property tax base a school district can draw from, will be up 1.5% in 2025-26, where in the last three years average increases have been in the 8 to 10% range.
The property tax provisions within SEA 1 mean that districts will see a reduced amount of property tax revenue that they can collect within their operations fund.
BCSC Treasurer Jamie Brinegar said previously that there is $3.6 million in property tax cap losses within the operations fund in 2026, a 50% increase from the previous year as a result of SEA 1.
“Senate Bill 1’s property tax reform provisions reduce the growth and stability of a key local revenue sources for our school districts,” Keele said. “When combined with possible declining student enrollment and flat or modest state tuition support increases, the capacity for districts to provide meaningful salary growth to teachers presents further challenges, which we have to tackle together.”
Teachers already at the maximum combined teacher salary receive a $500 stipend each year. Teachers each year can also earn a $150 literacy endorsement increase, which is a product of ongoing state legislative changes that focus on early literacy.
Starting salaries for teachers with no prior experience will remain the same as they currently are in 2025-26 at $50,950, but that will go to $51,800 in 2026-27. All teachers in 2026-27 will also go up a rung on the district’s teacher salary table, given it does not exceed to maximum combined salary of $96,350.
Operating referendum increases for teachers will remain the same, and Keele emphasized how instrumental the operating referendum is for keeping the district’s compensation for teachers competitive. Teachers with five, 10 and 15 years of experience within BCSC are eligible for incremental bumps in their salary.
“It’s hard to put into words the gratitude that teachers feel for the continued support both from our school board and our community for BCSC’s operating referendum. State funding, as you can see, no longer stretches far enough to cover a competitive wage for our teachers,” Keele said, noting an Indiana Capital Chronicle article that shows Hoosier teachers still earn less than colleagues in neighboring states.
“These operating referenda are thankfully an option that the legislature has given to communities like ours to improve upon this lack of state funding.”
Keele also mentioned the district’s improvement in teacher retention and recruitment through the operating referendum.
Board Trustee Jason Major, District 1, said he was surprised to see teachers receiving a 1.5% increase in 2025-26 after the 2023-25 CBA increased teacher salaries 8% and 3% respectively over those two years.
“I think the one thing I’ve heard over the last two-and-a-half years more than anything is teachers deserve more. I’m surprised to see 1.5% after the last two years being around 12% total,” Major said. “… Is there anything you can advise us on that other than we don’t have enough money— there’s always money, right? How we spend it can be moved around a little bit. But how do we get to a point where it’s only 1.5%?
Stalbaum reverted back to comments Keele made about the “financial headwinds” public school districts in the state are facing before Superintendent Chad Phillips jumped in.
“With an education fund budget that’s 96% salaries and benefits, we know that any change to moving money around is going to involve people and programs,” Phillips said. “… We just weren’t willing to look at removing people and programs to the extent that it would have made a meaningful impact on the bargaining session this year.”
Major then responded that: “So the big story is we couldn’t afford more than 1.5% for teachers? There’s just no more money, right?”
School board members on Monday also approved the budget for 2025-26, which Phillips noted “spends more money than we’re bringing in in revenue.”
“We could afford more, but we would spend it out of a cash balance and continue to put ourselves in a deficit financing position,” the superintendent said.
