Madison Consolidated Schools announce district-wide compensation increases, a new pay scale, and additions to the district-level administrative team.

Some staff will see a 50% increase in pay

At the November meeting, the Board of School Trustees approved a number of exciting things. A large compensation increase to all employees, the approved 2022-2023 teacher contract, and additional personnel to complete a revamp of the district leadership team were a few items on the agenda. “This district has done excellent work over the past several years with a very small team,” shared Superintendent Teresa Brown. “We have made some significant changes in our team over the past few months which were necessary to better align operations and as a result have actually reduced our overall administrative headcount by three positions. These moves have enabled us to fill key positions and round out the restructuring of our district-level, administrative leadership team.”

Restructure of Leadership Team

Since 2019-2020, the curriculum role has been absorbed and split between elementary and secondary administrators as added duties to an already very full list of responsibilities. While a more cost-effective model, what we now see post-pandemic, is a significant learning gap with some students which emphasizes the need for a more focused, hands-on approach that is standardized to address the alignment and sequencing of the curriculum for the district for grades K - 12. “In addition, we need to be able to have someone dedicated to assessing our current teaching and learning practices and committed to developing new and innovative K-12 programming. We are also excited about the opportunity to provide our staff with professional learning and other resources to support improvement for our students and staff,” said Brown.

For over a decade, the district has not had a dedicated Human Resources department. It has been embedded within the finance team with one individual working hard to support over 400 employees. “It is nearly impossible to be proactive with such a small team, and in today’s market, we must find ways to actively seek and recruit talent, assess benefits and compensation, and find ways to recognize and celebrate the employees we have,” Brown continued. “I am very excited about the support our HR team will now be able to give to our employees. I believe that these two particular roles are vital to the overall success of our district - for students and staff.”

Personnel Announcements

Shannon Allman will join the district as the new Director of Human Resources on December 5, 2022. Allman comes from Jennings County where she held the same position since 2017. Working with over 680 employees, Allman understands what it means to support each individual to ensure they have what they need to be successful in their position, regardless of what their job responsibilities are within the district. “I have spent the past 25 years of my career supporting, assisting, and building employees of varying skill levels and backgrounds to their full potential,” she shared. “I enjoy working with motivated individuals. I embrace challenges and look forward to assisting others to ensure that we are always moving forward to be better.”

Prior to her role at Jennings County, Allman was the Executive Director of Operations for Red Oak Industries (2013-2017) and Assistant Manager of Residential Services (2004-2013) with Centerstone in Columbus, IN. “I have a great deal of experience working with different types of people in diverse teams while ensuring the care and respect were the focus of the care provided,” Allman continued. While with Centerstone, she oversaw the employment of seriously mentally ill adults in a not-for-profit business at Red Oak Industries. She was responsible for the management of four residential group homes, the 30-plus staff who provided their care, and held oversight of outpatient services for adults in Jennings and Jefferson counties. Her overall employment with Centerstone included other entry-level positions and spanned from 1997 until 2017 when she left for her current position. “I am very excited to be a part of the Madison team,” Allman shared. “I enjoyed working with Dr. Brown and I believe in the work she does and her ability to bring people together for the benefit of educating children. I look forward to working with and building strong teams internally which I hope will have an immediate and long-lasting, positive impact on our employees.”

Allman holds a Bachelor’s Degree in General Studies and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Indiana University, Columbus, IN.

Janet McCreary has accepted a promotion to the new position of Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. In this new role, McCreary will be responsible for working with all staff throughout the district to create engaging learning environments. She will utilize data to understand needs, gaps, and opportunities to further align the curriculum from elementary to secondary. She will also identify opportunities for professional learning to support teachers in providing challenging and rewarding instruction. She will oversee grant funding, state reporting, and delivery of standardized testing and results, and manage the overall forward movement of all curriculum-guided instruction for grades PreK through graduation.

McCreary began her career with Madison on August 14, 1999. During that time she has worked at Deputy Elementary as a Title I Interventionist, a 5th and 6th-grade classroom teacher, and has been the building principal since 2015. Through the years, she has served on numerous building and district-level committees including curriculum, School Improvement, grade level, assessment, curriculum adoption, and school safety.

“I have been blessed with an amazing staff throughout my time at Deputy,” McCreary reflected. “We have a unique community inside our building who have worked together for years with our families and have been able to do some great work together. I am forever grateful for the things I have learned and accomplished and I look forward to taking that learning into my new role where I hope to create those special connections throughout our district.” Under McCreary’s leadership tenure, Deputy has maintained an A school grade from the Indiana Department of Education, launched a successful and growing Preschool program, was designated as a National Blue Ribbon School in 2021, and was recognized as a Family Friendly School in 2021-2022.

Additional Changes to Organizational Structure

At the October board meeting, Danica Houze was promoted to Chief Financial Officer. Houze has been with the district for 9 years and served as the corporation's treasurer before her new role. She will assume the responsibilities of the former finance director position and oversee the day-to-day operations of the financial team including accounts payable/receivable, payroll, budgeting, grant management, and state and federal reporting of financial information.

Tara McKay, a twenty-plus-year veteran of the district, was promoted to Assistant to the Superintendent. Most recently Director of Special Programs, McKay’s experiences and skills make her a natural fit. “We see Tara’s diverse and well-rounded experiences in early childhood development, collaboration with principals, teachers, and parents on Special Education services, screenings and interventions, teacher and staff Growth Plans, and behavioral interventions as a great asset to support our staff, students, and families district-wide,” shared Dr. Brown. Additional roles Tara has held in the district include teaching preschool, kindergarten, second and third grade, preschool coordinator, assistant director of special services, and principal. Other integral duties which have further prepared her for this role include management of state reporting, grant writing and management, attendance accountability programming, and analyzing student and program data to ensure alignment of curriculum and resources.

Staff Compensation

As part of our annual teacher contract negotiation process, the district staff took a hard look at the overall compensation model and made vast, far-reaching changes to be able to better compete for talent. “We are so excited to be able to offer all of our employees increased salaries,” Brown shared. “Our school district is a major employer in our community with over 400 employees who are responsible for the education of our children. When evaluating our budget, we had additional funding available through cash reserves, increased state funding, and private donations that allowed us to raise our overall compensation rate to retain our current employees and attract talent to our district. We want our employees to be well compensated and understand that we value them.” Some employees will see up to a 50% increase in their current pay. All positions in the Madison Consolidated Schools will now have a starting wage of at least $15.00 an hour and offer additional compensation for years of experience, advanced or specialized degrees, and certifications or prior experience. “I am pleased we had the funding available and the school board prioritized improving compensation so we were able to adjust salaries of certified and classified staff significantly. It is important for us to be able to hire and retain quality staff in our school district and in this community. It is also important to find ways to let people know they are valued, respected, and appreciated! We are in a unique position, through a large pool of privately donated funding that we have managed very well, that we can make these types of sweeping, positive investments in our most valuable resources…our people.”

Some current positions available are listed below. If you, or someone you know, are interested in learning more about the positions available at Madison, please check career opportunities  skyward.madison.k12.in.us

Madison Consolidated High School ● Science Teacher ● English Teacher ● Special Education Teacher ● Custodians ● Homebound Instructor ● Instructional Support Personnel (ISP - FT) Intense Intervention

Madison Junior High School ● 5th-grade Teacher ● Custodians (2nd shift) ● Homebound Instructor

Anderson Elementary School ● Developmental Delay Preschool Teacher ● Interventionists

Lydia Middleton Elementary ● Instructional Support

District ● Registered Nurse ● Speech Language Pathologist ● Bus Drivers & Aides ● Health Room Assistants ● School Resource Officer ● Instructional Support Personnel (ISP - FT) Intense Behavioral Specialists ● Maintenance

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