Mister Whittemore, a resident who gave his address as 321 South Shea Road in Scottsboro, Indiana, raised concerns during public comment about recent pay-scale changes that he said left him paid only marginally more than new hires.

Whittemore said his first pay stub showed a starting wage of $19.45, his most recent stub showed $20.44, and that he had received $2.95 in raises over six years. He noted a district banner advertising a starting wage of $20.86 and said new hires were “within a dollar and 54¢ of me,” adding that the district appeared to have “cut through the steps that I had to take.”

The matter was discussed at length with board members and administrators. Board members described the new pay scale as intended to raise starting pay “to attract people,” and acknowledged that restructuring a scale can compress previously earned step increases. One board member told Whittemore, “let HR and payroll look at it,” and the board advised him to meet with human resources and payroll to reconcile his records. The transcript shows Dr. Knighton also was to be involved in follow-up with HR and payroll.

The exchange covered how some classifications historically received annual increments up to a set number of years and that those increments had changed during the pandemic-era pay-scale revisions. Whittemore asked whether bus-driver pay steps were equivalent to other classified roles and said he believed the step system had been altered when the district adopted the new scale.

No formal board action or vote on pay adjustments occurred at the meeting. The board’s response was procedural: staff (HR and payroll) were directed to review Whittemore’s records and to report back if further board consideration was needed.