MSDMV extends Stewart contract until 2029

By Lois Mittino Gray

Members of the Mount Vernon School Board voted to extend the present School Superintendent’s contract with the district for another three years with action taken at their October 20, meeting. They unanimously approved the extension of the employment contract between Superintendent Stephanie Stewart and the Board of School Trustees for a term commencing July 1, 2026 and ending June 30, 2029.

In accordance to Public Law 148-2012, a public hearing was opened before the vote, to serve as an opportunity for the public to comment on the contract extension. Claudia Kinnaird gave comments in support of the extension. “We are very lucky to have her. She is very qualified. Give her time and follow her directions. I have been involved with this district for many years and she is the best we have had since 1994,” she told the audience.

Details about the contract were published in the Posey County News as required and available on the district website. Stewart’s salary will be $122,000 for 260 contract days at a daily rate of $469.23. A possible stipend of $3,000 is built in dependent on her evaluation. 2.5 percent of her contract salary will be the 401K contribution and the face value of her life insurance is $150,000. She will receive 20 vacation days and 20 leave days.

At the meeting, pursuant to Indiana Code 20-29-6-19(c), the public was also given an opportunity to comment on the tentative teacher collective bargaining agreement which was posted at www.mvschool.org under the School Board tab. No one was present in person to make comments and no written statements were received from the public.

The new contract keeps salaries about the same for two years with little change, except at the very top increment, 31 years plus. A first year teacher will start in the district at a salary of $50,000. At the top, 31 plus years, the pay scale is at $80,340. Additional years after that will increase a little more each time, according to Chief Financial Officer Bo Harris. The basic contract also outlines the compensation for extra duties.

In other board action:

--Board members confirmed the employment of Katy Grant as a teacher assistant at Marrs Elementary School. She has worked as a Child Watch Coordinator for the YMCA in Evansville since 2022. Prior to that, she was the Executive Director of Autism Evansville for three years.

--Amy Burkett and Alicia Schmidt were given permission to attend the FFA Mission Conference at Gibson Southern on November 18, 2025. FFA will pay the expenses. Mrs. Schmidt was in attendance at the board meeting with seven students, members of her FFA Club, to report on their recent activities. The FFA Chapter attends many state and national conventions, wins award for their studies, participates in competitions and wins many of them, and does fundraising for the community and themselves. Their Recent Farm to Table Dinner on Main Street was attended by 300 people and raised $23,000. Money has been distributed to many local charities.

--granted permission to the Mount Vernon Elks Club for the use of the auxiliary junior high gym on Sunday, November 16, 2025 for the hoop shoot from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

--Citizens Keren Greene, Matt Watson, Andrew Sargent, Andy Hoehn, and Lee Keitel spoke against the LGBTQ+ Club at the Mount Vernon Junior High School.

-- Citizens Karen Edwards, Amelia Gonzalez, Anthony Konrath, Cheven May, and Sally Julian voiced support of the student led noncurricular club.

--Board President Kendra Bisesi read a written statement regarding the Board’s position on clubs. The Board will continue to allow student-led groups to use utilize our facilities. (see separate article).

--School Superintendent Stewart said the official State Count Day was October 1 with a count of 1909 students, down forty from the last count of 1949. She said they are working on the first ILearn checkpoint and should have some data very soon.

--Information to the Board included Self-Insurance Fund report and fuel adjustment chart.

--The next board meeting is slated for Monday, November 3, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. in the high school Media Center.