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Lenoir City Schools Board of Education on Thursday voted to renew Superintendent Jeanne Barker’s contract with the school system and approved the district’s differentiated pay plan for 2015-16.

At the end of the meeting, Barker thanked the board. “This job cannot be done alone,” Barker said. “It is a big job. Thank you to the board in recognizing our teachers in approving the salary increase.”

As part of the differentiated pay plan, certified staff who receive additional certification in a hard-to-staff areas will receive reimbursements for the cost of the Praxis exam after receiving a passing score and revised license.

Current teachers who have received a level 5 teacher effectiveness score or a score of 4.0 or higher on the final qualitative evaluation score will be eligible to apply for 15 newly created learning leader positions to assist in coaching new teachers and instructors who are below the acceptable range in teacher evaluations.

Participating teachers will take on those responsibilities in addition to instructional roles. An annual supplement of $1,500 will be paid per participating teacher at the end of the year resulting in a total payout of $22,500.