Teachers of record, or those without a certificate, will make the same salary as certified teachers with a bachelor’s degree for the first five years of their employment in the Mexico School District.

A motion to adopt the certified salary schedule as it was originally presented in the previous Feb. 17 Mexico Board of Education meeting passed in a 4-2 vote on March 17.

“I think any time we can pay teachers more, it’s something that we should celebrate,” Dr. Troy Lentz, Mexico School District superintendent, said. “I appreciate the board being willing to approve a $1,000 base increase in, really, some uncertain times for school funding.”

Prior to this year, teachers of record were not listed on the salary schedule.

Teachers of record, as defined by Amber Henderson, director of human resources, are educators hired by the district who have not completed their substitute certification but are actively working toward it. In the Feb. 17 meeting, she said the district currently employs about 47 teachers who are not fully certified, and they were originally given two years to complete certification.

“We’ve been pretty flexible with that and working with people assuming that they can show us some kind of proof that they’re working towards that,” she said in the February meeting. “We’re just working on trying to find an incentive to get everybody to the certification that DESE does require.”

The 2026-27 salary schedule includes annual raises, and teachers of record will continue to receive the same pay as certified teachers with a bachelor’s degree for the first five years — after that, they are frozen at an annual salary of $45,000 until certification is complete.

Henderson said she has done a lot of research on surrounding districts and, of the schools she spoke to, salary freezes happen after the first two years.

“I’m the only district that’s changing this that’s done five, and my reasoning for the five was just so I could put everyone on the salary schedule,” she added.

Back in February, when board members took a first look at the salary schedule, Scott Nichols, board member, said he didn’t think it was fair to start teachers of record at the same base pay as a teacher who comes in with a certification, and he revisited his concerns during the March meeting.

“I don’t want to say the one that’s done the work is coming in at the same level as someone who hasn’t yet,” he said. “I’d like to give that incentive to ones that are coming in fully prepared, fully certified.”

Jon Calhoun, board member, agreed with Nichols and said it would be reasonable to start first-year teachers of record at a $40,000 annual salary during the March meeting.

“I can’t give you a reason why we can’t do it," Henderson said at the meeting.

Jessica Ekern, board president, also agreed with Calhoun and Nichols, but said there were other factors to consider.

“We’re dealing with something that has been handed down through years, so we have to do it with the real people who are really in those slots,” she said.

As a compromise, Calhoun suggested freezing teachers of record at their current salaries, but Henderson and Dr. Troy Lentz, superintendent, explained that would be a whole separate salary schedule.

Calhoun also suggested lowering the salary for first-year teachers of record and adjusting the scales each year to reflect the offset in salaries they requested.

“If we change this, it would change any contracts that you’re getting ready to approve — you’re going to have to deny — and then we would need a special board meeting,” Henderson said in response. “We would have to get this approved before the next board meeting. I do feel pretty good about it being this way.”

Mathew Pilger, board treasurer, made a motion to accept the salary schedule as it was presented without changes, and Michelle Stephens, vice president of the board, seconded the motion.

Nichols and Calhoun voted no but Stephens, Pilger, Ekern and Lennette Brown voted yes.

A copy of the full salary schedule is available online on the Mexico School District website in the March 17 Board of Education meeting agenda.