The School District of Lancaster board of directors made a series of sweeping financial decisions in an efficient school board meeting marked by farewells to superintendent Dr. Damaris Rau, who is retiring.
The board approved a $264.2 million budget for the 2022-2023 school year, which includes $2.5 million to boost wages for support staff, including paraeducators, health room nurses, office staff, maintenance, and food service employees. It also includes a new four-year contract for district teachers, which the board approved unanimously during the meeting.
Under the contract, teachers are scheduled to receive annual increases of 3.94%, 3.79%, 3.7% and 3.1%, through 2025-2026. The agreement also increases reimbursement for post-master’s coursework and eliminates a high-premium, low deductible health care plan that was costly to the district but had few participants. Students will see fewer early dismissals next year, but they’ll have an extra day off in September for teacher professional development.
The board also approved nearly $85 million in bond financing to complete Phase IV of the district’s capital construction projects. Phase IV includes renovations and additions to Wheatland Middle School, Hamilton Elementary School, Burrowes Elementary School, Price Elementary School, King Elementary School, and Carter & MacRae.
At the beginning of the meeting, Jess King, chief of staff to Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace, read a proclamation declaring June 30, Dr. Rau’s last official day as superintendent, to be “Dr. Damaris Rau Day” in the City of Lancaster for “her positive influence and contribution to the city of Lancaster.”
The Community Action Partnership also presented Dr. Rau with an honorary diploma from Head Start in honor of her support for early childhood education in the city.