Board reviews proposed 2025–26 salary-schedule changes, including $10 hourly floor and new multipliers

District finance staff presented proposed changes to the Natchitoches Parish School Board’s 2025–26 salary schedule, including a proposed $10-an-hour minimum for hourly employees, new hourly categories and clarified pay multipliers for central-office roles and ROTC instructors.

Finance Director Mr. Wascom told the board that hourly classifications will include a $10 minimum “because you can't hire anybody for less than that.” The presentation also added explicit lines for crossing guards and certified nursing assistants in hourly pay tables and proposed advancing central-office employees with accounting degrees one column on the salary matrix; employees with a CPA would receive an additional column.

Mr. Wascom explained a clarification for ROTC (Junior ROTC) instructor pay: the Army and Air Force publish a rate and the district typically pays half of that amount in December and the other half in May. He said a 20% multiplier could apply when a unit exceeds 85 cadets on the Oct. 1 count, a provision intended to address recruiting and workload in larger classes.

Board members asked technical questions about when multipliers and stipends are paid and whether changes require future budget adjustments. No formal vote on the salary schedule was recorded in the transcript; the item was discussed and staff said they would present the finalized schedule for board consideration.