By VICKI URBANIK

The Duneland School Board unanimously agreed to grant school administrators a 3.5 percent base salary increase, retroactive to July 1.

The school board also agreed to allow Superintendent Dirk Baer to make adjustments in individual administrative salaries to take into account their experience and other factors. No school principal or other administrator will get less than a 3.5 percent raise, but some will get more than that. The total cost of the pay adjustments is in the range of $30,000 to $40,000 range.

With the raise, Baer’s 2007-08 salary was set at $122,900. The breakdown for the other administrators was not immediately available, because Baer intended to meet with each administrator to discuss the salary issues.

The school board normally addresses salary increases before the start of the new school year, but this year, administrators and teachers alike began the school year working under the salaries in their previous contracts.

Baer said the school board continues to bargain with the Duneland Teachers Association regarding the new teachers contract and that once the negotiations are completed, the new teachers contract will be presented to the school board.

In another matter, the school board agreed to make no change in the premiums that Duneland School employees pay for their health insurance this school year. The fund has a healthy balance of about $4 million, said Assistant Superintendent David Pruis.

The cost for an employee on the single plan is $7,440. Of that, the employee pays $1,448 and the school corporation pays $5,952. The family plan premium costs $17,220 annually. Of that, the employee pays $3,444, and the school corporation pays $13,776.

Also Monday, the school board agreed to advertise, for the third time this year, for another round of short-term borrowing, this time totaling $9.9 million. The loans, known as tax anticipation warrants, will keep the school system operating after the start of the year, before it receives property tax draws.

Duneland Schools, like all other taxing units in Porter County, have yet to get this year’s property tax draws, since the tax bills are woefully late. School Board member Mike Trout commented that in all his years on the school board, the board has never before had to borrow as often as it has this year.

The school board also approved a field trip request for the Chesterton High School orchestra, which will travel to a music festival in Sandusky, Ohio, including a visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The school board’s next meeting, originally set for Dec. 3, was rescheduled to 5 p.m. on Dec. 13.

Posted 11/6/2007