HOWARD — The East Knox Board of Education on Wednesday, with board members Craig Campbell and Korey Kidwell abstaining, ratified a negotiated agreement which freezes teachers’ base salary and reduces the amount the board pays for their insurance benefits. The two-year master contract is retroactively effective July 1, and the health insurance changes will impact all other employees beginning Jan. 1.
The agreement will reduce the board’s contribution from 100 percent to 92.5 percent of the policy for single coverage. The board will pay $516 per month while the employee will pay $41.85 per month for coverage.
Family coverage will remain the same with the board covering 85 percent of the cost at $1,221.23 per month. Employees with family coverage pay $215.51 a month.
Treasurer Jessi Busenburg said the health insurance changes will result in about $100,000 in savings on an annual basis. Also related to finances, Busenburg said the elementary has received a state transportation grant to be used to fund a fourth-grade field trip to the Statehouse in Columbus. The district also received a $1,000 grant from The Allstate Foundation to the East Knox FCCLA to further youth traffic safety, and, thanks to a $5,000 gift from Lowe’s and the efforts of many community volunteers, the district has a new outdoor learning classroom. It is located near the athletic fields.
