The Sioux City School Board has offered school district teachers a raise of $150 to their base salary for the next school year, or much lower than what teachers are seeking.
Sioux City School District teachers, through their employee union group, two weeks ago asked for raises of $1,500, or 3.83 percent, to the base salary in the 2026-27 year ahead.
The school board proposal came on Wednesday, and marks the end of public meetings that air the opening proposals by the two sides. Iowa law permits the subsequent negotiations to be carried out privately until a contract is reached..
Speaking to about 40 people observing the meeting, Interim district superintendent Jim Vanderloo said, “We are disappointed that the state only came up with 2 percent” growth to K-12 Public schools funding.
The Sioux City Education Association represents 1,100 teachers, and 400 workers are represented by the Sioux City Education Support Personnel Association group.
Also two weeks ago, the Sioux City Education Support Personnel Association group asked for raises of $3 per hour for certain special education assistants, and $1.25 per hour raises for elementary library assistants.
The school board counter offer was for raises of 30 cents per hour and to keep longevity pay the same as this year. By comparison, SCESPA had requested an increase in longevity pay by $50 for each of four tenure segments.
The Iowa Legislature in 2024 passed a proposal to raise the minimum teacher salary in the state to $50,000.
