photo by: Journal-World

The Lawrence school board will meet on Monday at the school district offices, 110 McDonald Dr.

At a special meeting on Thursday, the Lawrence school board approved an increase to the administrative salary pool and interviewed the final candidate for the interim superintendent position.

The school board approved the superintendent’s recommended 4.077% increase to the administrative salary pool, a total increase of $245,520. This increase will allow the district to finalize compensation packages for all employees for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

As the Journal-World reported, on Monday, the school board approved a labor contract that includes a 99-cent-per-hour raise for classified employees, which includes a large number of positions such as administrative professionals, food service employees, custodians, paraprofessionals and other such positions. The contract also included a provision that allows employees to use sick leave as soon as they are employed by the district, rather than being subject to a waiting period.

Additionally, the board members ratified a tentative agreement on June 22 to increase the certified employees’ salary pool by $1,920,218, which includes a $1,400 increase to their base salary. Some Lawrence teachers will get a pay increase based on years of experience, levels of certification, or both.

The special meeting on Thursday also included two executive sessions. One session was used to conduct an interview with the final candidate for the interim superintendent position, Jeanice Swift. The second session was for the “purposes of discussing personnel matters of non-elected personnel.” No action was taken following either of these sessions.