The Gary Community School Corp. has reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement with its teachers' union that boosts base pay and features three opportunities for teachers to earn extra incentive pay.
The deal, presented Tuesday to the Indiana Distressed Unit Appeals Board, hikes teacher salaries by 3% and offers up to $7,000 in additional pay for teachers who meet specific goals regarding academic performance, teacher absences and student attendance taking.
"This tentative agreement gives teachers their fourth pay increase in the last 14 months, which demonstrates GCSC’s commitment to educators, especially during the pandemic," said Paige McNulty, the district's manager.
"This tentative agreement also highlights the need for our performance as a district to improve. By including these incentives and benchmarks, we hope to see improvements across the board, especially in academics."
Records show the state-managed school district and the Gary Teachers Union reached a bargaining impasse Nov. 15.
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Both sides then worked through a mediator to reach the settlement the union approved Friday.
"As educators, we understand that we are still under state control and that negotiations are a two-way street," said GlenEva Dunham, GTU president.
"The stipends that we’ve negotiated are doable, and I believe all my fellow educators will strive to go beyond what is needed to teach their students."
McNulty agreed: "We had a great mediator, and I think we were able to come to an agreement that will serve teachers as well as students."
Additional details about the new contract are available on the district's website: garycsc.k12.in.us.
The contract is due to be formally adopted at a Dec. 27 signing ceremony.
Gallery: Gary's abandoned schools
Gary Schools: Edison
A peek inside the now-abandoned Edison Middle School, formerly Edison High School
Gary Schools: Edison
Access to the now abandoned Edison Middle School, formerly Edison High School seems to be relatively easy.
Gary Schools: Horace Mann
The interior appears to have burned in the now-abandoned Horace Mann High School.
Gary Schools: Ernie Pyle
Though wood used to secure windows at the abandoned Ernie Pyle Elementary School has fallen, the doors are bolted and welded shut.
Gary Schools: Horace Mann
An entrance to the now-abandoned Horace Mann High School is wide open.
Gary Schools: Emerson
Signs with poetry from the Gary Poetry Project adorn the wood panels used to cover the windows at the abandoned Emerson High School. The upper floors remain open.
Gary Schools: Ernie Pyle
A chair is used to help gain entry to the abandoned Ernie Pyle Elementary School.
Gary Schools: Horace Mann
An entrance to the now-abandoned Horace Mann High School is wide open. The school is one of 33 buildings the Gary Community School Corp. put up for sale last year. A recent check across the city at Gary schools and the district’s administration building shows the district is failing to properly secure all of its shuttered school buildings.
Gary Schools: Horace Mann
An entrance to the now-abandoned Horace Mann High School is wide open.
Gary Schools: Emerson
Signs with poetry from the Gary Poetry Project adorn the wood panels used to cover the windows at the abandoned Emerson High School.
Gary Schools: Emerson
Signs with poetry from the Gary Poetry Project adorn the wood panels used to cover the windows at the abandoned Emerson High School.
Gary Schools: George Washington Carver
Intruders cannot gain access to the abandoned George Washington Carver Elementary School but the upper floors remain unsecured.
Gary Schools: George Washington Carver
Health books sit on the second-story window ledge undisturbed at the abandoned George Washington Carver Elementary School.
Gary Schools: Edison
Windows on both stories of the now-abandoned Edison Middle School, formerly Edison High School, are open.
Gary Schools: Edison
A sign bids farewell at the now-abandoned Edison Middle School, formerly Edison High School.
Gary Schools: Ernie Pyle
The doors are bolted and welded shut at the abandoned Ernie Pyle Elementary School.
Gary Schools: Horace Mann
A sign once welcoming visitors sits outside the now-abandoned Horace Mann High School.
Gary Schools: Spaulding
A sign warns trespassers to stay away at the abandoned Spaulding Elementary School.
Gary Schools: Spaulding
It's relatively easy to gain access to a Spaulding Elementary School classroom.
Gary Schools: Horace Mann
The interior appears to have burned in the now-abandoned Horace Mann High School.
Gary Schools: Edison
A child's car sits near the entrance to the gymnasium of the now-abandoned Edison Middle School, formerly Edison High School.
Gary Schools: Edison
A milk crate is apparently used to gain entrance to the now-abandoned Edison Middle School, formerly Edison High School.
Gary Schools: George Washington Carver
A rusted slide sits outside the abandoned George Washington Carver Elementary School.
Gary Schools: Spaulding
Both lower and upper floor windows are open at the abandoned Spaulding Elementary School.
Gary Schools: Spaulding
Doors are bolted shut at the abandoned Spaulding Elementary School.
Gary Schools: George Washington Carver
The lower floors of the abandoned George Washington Carver Elementary School appear to be boarded up, but the upper floors are open.
Gary Schools: Horace Mann
Broken windows allow access to the now-abandoned Horace Mann High School.
Gary Schools: Edison
Lower as well as upper floor windows remain open at the now-abandoned Edison Middle School, formerly Edison High School.
Gary Schools: Ernie Pyle
Though wood used to secure windows at the abandoned Ernie Pyle Elementary School has fallen, the doors are bolted and welded shut.
Gary Schools: Edison
Lower and upper floor windows remain open at the now-abandoned Edison Middle School, formerly Edison High School.
Gary Schools: George Washington Carver
The lower floors of the abandoned George Washington Carver Elementary School appear to be boarded up but the upper floors are open.
Gary Schools: Horace Mann
A lower-floor window allows entry to the now-abandoned Horace Mann High School.
Dan Carden
Chief Political Reporter
Dan has reported on Indiana state government for The Times since 2009. He also covers casinos, campaigns and corruption.
