Raises OK'd for USD 336 employees

Teachers and administrators in the Holton school district will receive a 4.4-percent raise for the 2025-26 school year, according to action taken by the USD 336 Board of Education during a special meeting on Thursday, June 19 that district superintendent Trevor Ashcraft said “went well.”

Board members Jenny Stous, Trent Tanking, Dena Swisher and Judy May, the latter participating via phone, voted unanimously to approve the negotiated teacher salary contract for the 2025-26 school year, which raised the base salary from 2024-25’s $45,250 to $47,250 for the coming year — a $2,000 increase. Incremental “steps” of $720 included for years of service and continuing education were unchanged from 2024-25, it was reported.

Board members Terry Lierz, Ryan Phillips and Rex Frazier were absent from the meeting.

Tanking moved to increase the classified base staff salary by 50 cents per hour, giving all returning classified staff a 60-cent raise, and to give returning administrators the same 4.4-percent raise that teachers will get, with May seconding the motion. Ashcraft said the increase in classified staff pay was needed “to begin a multi-year plan to be more competitive” with other districts in the area.

The pay raise for classified staff was approved on a 4-0 vote after Swisher’s motion to amend the motion to separate the administrator salary increase for further discussion was seconded by Stous.

During the administrator salary discussion, board members noted that about eight administrators and directors would be impacted by the raise due to the number of new hires and appointments already placed at a starting salary for the 2025-26 school year.

After discussing comparisons to administrator salaries in surrounding school districts, Tanking’s motion to approve the administrator pay raise was seconded by Swisher and approved.

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