IPS Board OKs $2.6M In Raises For Non-Teachers

The Indianapolis Public Schools commissioner board unanimously approved a raise for 1,700 district employees –– including principals, food service workers, and administrators.

All IPS staff, regardless of union status, will see at least a 3 percent raise. Food center workers will receive a 22 percent raise, and food center drivers a 4 percent raise. Police officers, which are not part of the bargaining union, will see a 10 percent raise.

The raises will cost the district an estimated $2.6 million a year.

“I think it continues to demonstrate the district's commitment for our employees and our team,”  IPS Interim Superintendent Aleesia Johnson says, “Just across the board wanting to make sure we are valuing folks who commit to IPS and demonstrate their value to us.”

With high turnover in critical areas –– such as foodservice –– district leaders hope the raises will help retain staff and match market value.

These raises will not be funded as part of $220 million referenda passed in November for teacher pay. However, Johnson says projected funds gave them the confidence to dip into cash reserves and raise salaries across the board.

For most IPS staff, this is the first salary raise in a decade.

In December, the district also reached a collective bargaining agreement with the Indianapolis Education Association, or IEA, to raise teacher salaries 5 percent on average. Teachers have received a raise each year since 2013.

District leaders say they hope the salary increase will move positions closer to market rates and help the district attract employees. Foodservice workers earn between $10-14 per hour.

Many employees that have worked with the district for 10 years or more will receive a $500 bonus.

Unlike the teacher raises, staff raises will not retroactive, meaning they will only be applied going forward. Teachers will receive back-pay for the 2018-19 school year.

In June 2019, when the district receives access to referenda funds, leaders can negotiate teacher raises for the next two years.