BEATRICE – A contract has been approved between the Beatrice Public School District and teachers in District 15. The result of negotiations between a school board committee and the Beatrice Education Association, the agreement sets beginning teacher base pay at $39,475….an increase of $1,000 from the previous agreement.


Board member Doris Martin, one of the three school board members which negotiated on behalf of the district, said a $1,200 deductible on health insurance remains. She spoke of the total range of compensation for a beginning teacher.


"The beginning package for a new teacher will range from $50,037 with single insurance, to $69,446 with family insurance."  The highest package of salary and benefits among faculty reaches some $107,000.


Martin, former Board member Janet Byars and Board member Brandon Vetrovsky served on the district’s negotiating committee, meeting with representatives of the B-E-A. Both sides agreed to the contract for 2025-2026 in early February.  Board members said negotiations went smoothly this year.


Beatrice High School officially has a new Director of Activities and Assistant Principal. The board of education Monday night approved the hiring of Cale Kaiser, who’s been a teacher and coach in the district for the past nine years. Superintendent Jason Alexander says there were thirteen applicants for the job.


"We were very fortunate to have three groups of people conducting interviews. We had eight teachers and coaches, nine community members that gave up a full day to participate, so we want to extend a huge thank-you to the teachers, coaches and community members that helped our five administrators be part of that interview process. There were thirteen applicants and we narrowed it down to five interviews. Mr. Kaiser was the top choice."


BHS Activities Director and Assistant Principal Gus Brown is retiring at the end of this year following a 29-year career in education.  Alexander said, "Cale's been here for nine years. He's proven himself as a leader. He's done the things necessary to earn this spot, so we are extremely excited to bring him alongside our administrative team."


Also at Monday night’s board meeting, approval of a new reading curriculum was given for grades Kindergarten through Five. Assistant Superintendent Dr. Jackie Nielsen says a team of instructors and administrators examined seven different programs, choosing Core Knowledge Language Arts from among two finalist choices.


"We know that the state department has a goal of 75-percent of students will be reading at grade level in third grade, by 2030. That is our goal, too. We need to find a resource that's going to support our teachers in meeting that goal. We will provide plenty of professional development to support the implementation because we know that is very important, as well."


The cost of the program totals $272,597. The Beatrice Public School District updates reading curriculum once every seven years.