It was a sea of red as teachers in the Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School District filled the board room Wednesday night to support the new contract agreement with the HSE Schools.  The board also expressed enthusiasm for the pact, approving it 7-0.

There were 6 people speaking during public comment, all in support of the contract. Stephanie Hunt also urged the board to extend the contracts of 3 top administrators not yet extended, now that the funding referendum has been approved by the voters.

The contract, covering the certified staff for the current school year, provides the highest starting teacher salary in Hamilton County and also provides additional pay for retention.  There were some enhancements to the benefit package.

In other news from the Wednesday night board meeting:

–Contracts for Embodied Teams and Hirons Public Relations received board approval.

–The board heard a presentation from Erin Mohr on the student High Ability program.

–Board President Dawn Lange once again thanked all those helping with the campaign to approve the funding referendum.  She also said the deadline for applications to be the new superintendent are due by December 1st.  The board will begin looking at the applicants in December, with further steps taken on the search during 2024.