The Geary USD 475 Board of Education has approved average 6.5% salary increases for the coming year for classified employees and administrators in the school district.

Superintendent Dr. Corbin Witt confirmed to the Board that the raises are sustainable. “We have cash balances we have built up over the years.” The Superintendent also noted the federal military heavily impacted aid money received by the school district the past two years is a factor. That totaled approximately $8.1 million each of those two years, and Witt noted that changed the USD 475 budget “quite a bit.”

Witt added district officials have analyzed it closely. “April 24 is when everything kind of changed for us. At that point we had not yet had our district audit yet, and we also had been informed we were probably not getting impact aid this year. So we were getting ready to do cutting mode, and then we found out that day that we were approved for heavily impacted aid for this year, and then will also get it next year. That’s about a $16 million change in one day.”

Witt confirmed officials began talking about doing something to make employee salaries where they were compatible,  and where USD 475 can compete with surrounding districts with competitive salaries.

Teacher ( certified employee ) salaries for the coming year have not yet been finalized because contract negotiations are still under way.  Those contract negotiations resume July 14.