Lawrence teachers will receive an $800 raise to their base pay, and elementary and high school teachers will join middle school teachers with having two planning periods instead of one.
The Lawrence school board on Monday voted 7-0 to approve the slightly more than 3% increase to the certified salary pool, totaling around $1.6 million, in 2025-26. Teachers will also have the opportunity for horizontal and vertical movement, referring to pay increases based on years of experience and levels of certification earned, respectively.
Lawrence Education Association, the district’s union that now represents both certified staff and education support specialists, engages in an annual negotiation process with the district.
Kristen Ryan, assistant superintendent, human resources and employee relations, said much time was spent on incorporating more plan time because respondents to an annual certified staff survey in 2025 said lack of plan time was a factor in low retention.
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“Plan time actually is at least a decade in the making, because we have records of committees and proposals and things, and it’s been a challenge,” said Sarah Rossillon, LEA’s certified staff negotiations team co-chair. “This is a really exciting step towards what could be.”
Elementary and high school teachers will now have two 45-minute plan periods — one for personal plan time and the other for collaborative professional plan time — during the instructional week. Out of seven periods, high school teachers will teach five instead of six in the fall.
Middle school teachers had already been operating with two plan periods, which board member Kelly Jones attributed to LEA’s persistence at the negotiations table.
“I think the LEA really held their ground with the second plan in the middle school level a year ago, and that’s what set us up for the our ability to really prioritize the second plan at the elementary and high school level,” Jones said.
Josh Spradlin, negotiations team co-chair, said honing in on plan time this year, although crucial, left little room for the union’s other top priority to make strides in compensation. He said the $800 raise is a gain, but there’s much more work needed to catch up to nearby districts. Salary will be the main focus for 2026-27 negotiations, he said.
“We feel really good that we were able to accomplish that one this year,” Spradlin said. “Now, it’s just moving on to the next one.”
Board members agreed the district must be innovative to achieve competitive salaries. Other area districts of similar sizes offer starting pay close to $50,000, Jones said.
For 2024-25, the board approved a $1,400 increase to the base pay for teachers, raising the salary for a first-year teacher with a bachelor’s degree to $43,983. The 2025-26 contract increases that salary to $44,783.
On the salary schedule, the maximum pay — for a teacher who holds a doctoral degree and 24 years of experience — will be $79,833.
See the meeting agenda item on BoardDocs for more information on the approved contract.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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