GDELTConnecticut
Goldstein: -9.0Tone: -3.3
The following letter was submitted to the Board of Education on Monday by Dani McTiernan Huge, a student representative on the city’s school board and a junior at Wilbur Cross High School. The letter addresses the district’s response to Hillhouse Assistant Principal Daniel Bonet’s alleged sexual assault of a student during school hours.
Dear New Haven Public Schools Board of Education Members,
It has been almost five months since Jane Doe, a student at Hillhouse High School, was reportedly sexually assaulted by Hillhouse Assistant Principal Daniel Bonet in his office during school hours. She was brave enough to report this to Hillhouse staff who are mandatory reporters. They then honored their obligation by reporting this up, where it reached Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF), the Hillhouse principal, and New Haven police.
You would think that after this report, the Hillhouse assistant principal would not be allowed access to Hillhouse’s building or its students. That is not what happened here.
The very next day of school, which was after a three-day weekend, Assistant Principal Bonet was somehow able to return to the building, and had the authority to call for a school lockdown. How could this happen?
From what we can see as students, there has been no accountability by the board for this egregious failure.
We need to know that our safety matters, that our voices matter, and that New Haven Public Schools will protect us, especially with a societal issue this upsetting and damaging.
Here are the facts (all of which took place at Hillhouse High School in 2026):
Thursday, May 21: Jane Doe is allegedly forcibly kissed by Assistant Principal Daniel Bonet in his office during school hours.
Friday, May 22: Jane Doe is allegedly raped by Bonet in his office during school hours. Jane Doe tells two Hillhouse staff as well as a classmate. The two school staff report the allegation to DCF (CT’s Department of Children and Families) that same afternoon. Hillhouse Principal Antoine Billy and the New Haven police are also informed.
Morning of Tuesday, May 26: After the three-day holiday weekend, and four days after Jane Doe was brave enough to come forward and report the alleged sexual assaults, Assistant Principal Bonet, the assailant, is let back into Hillhouse. Not only is he let back into the building after Jane Doe, a student, reported that he had sexually assaulted her during school hours, he is also named the administrator in charge that day, and has the authority to call for a school lockdown. He calls for a school lockdown, and upon hearing his voice over the loud speakers, Jane Doe becomes so distressed, she reportedly has to leave school early.
Later on Tuesday, May 26: Finally, Assistant Principal Bonet, the alleged sexual assailant, is placed on administrative leave, and leaves the building.
Monday, Sept. 14: Bonet is arrested on two charges of sexual assault (after turning himself in following a police-issued warrant for his arrest). This is almost four months after DCF notified the district and New Haven police on May 22.
The facts speak for themselves. We are faced with questions such as: How could the district let this happen? How can we go to school and feel safe if an assistant principal can allegedly rape a student and be let back into the school building four days after Jane Doe’s report? As students, what should we think, if Jane Doe was brave enough to report what happened, and no action was taken?
Imagine being Jane Doe and hearing your assailant’s voice over the loudspeaker, announcing that you are now locked in the building with him. This situation shows an outrageous lack of care for Jane Doe, students, and the protection of our safety, and sends the message to Jane Doe and Hillhouse students that their voices do not matter. You can imagine how scared and upset Jane Doe felt, hearing her assailant’s voice over the loudspeakers. Why was she not protected? Why, when a NHPS student came forward and reported sexual assault, did the district not take the proper steps to ensure her safety?
Since this information was made public, the Board of Education has not made an acceptable statement on the matter. As a Board of Education, students should be their number one priority. Why, therefore, was student safety not prioritized at all in this situation?
As students, we demand that our voices be heard and our safety be protected.
1. We demand that the Board of Education take responsibility by answering this one question: What leadership role was responsible for ensuring Assistant Principal Bonet immediately lose access to Hillhouse’s building and students after Jane Doe’s report, and how will they be held accountable?
Students need to know that if they are brave enough to report a sexual assault, that action will be taken to protect them and others from the alleged assailant. Given this, why/how was Assistant Principal Bonet let back into the building four days after the student reported the alleged assaults? This is a question the board can answer immediately.
What is the proper process following an allegation like this in terms of removing an alleged sexual predator from school premises, and was it followed in this case? If not, why not? And how will it be properly enforced to prevent this from happening again? This should never happen again. These are also questions the board can answer immediately.
Once a proper investigation is complete, the board needs to make a statement with full knowledge of the facts of the situation, and an understanding that the community and students are waiting for answers.
2. We demand that there be a clear action plan following any alleged assault being reported.
We demand that employees with a record of inappropriate sexual conduct do not have access to students or the school building immediately after being reported.
We demand that NHPS have clear and immediate protective procedures. There needs to be a clear plan to follow regarding sexual assault allegations in school.
3. We demand recurring consent education for students; we demand Title IX and sexual assault trauma training for leadership
We demand that there is recurring consent education in our schools. In health classes, consent needs to be a thoroughly discussed topic. We also need to make sure that we, as students, feel safe enough at school to know we can talk to teachers and ask for help.
We demand that all current and future NHPS Board of Education members, including the mayor, complete Title IX training and sexual assault trauma training.
We demand that all current and future executive management, including the superintendent, complete Title IX training, Mandated Reporter Training, and sexual assault trauma training.
4. We demand that NHPS convene a student-led task force on sexual assault, consent, and trauma education initiatives, with the objective of implementation for SY 27-28, and also including:
Dani McTiernan Huge: New Haven Board of Education Junior Student Representative (Wilbur Cross High School)
Abdellah Aly: New Haven Board of Education Senior Student Representative (Hill Regional Career High School)
Brandon Daley: New Haven Citywide Student Council Lead Student Climate Liaison, Community Youth Leadership Assembly President (Metropolitan Business Academy)
Derek Kerr: Community Youth Leadership Assembly Vice President (Hamden High School)
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Goldstein: -6.2Tone: -4.1
Maleek Jones was on his way to work Tuesday morning when his lawyer called with the news: The state’s latest effort to send him back to prison had failed.
The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had decided to uphold his exoneration.
“A stream of emotions just came across me,” said Jones. “I shared the news with my family. They was all emotional. I had to really sit down for a minute and really process all that was going on.”
Three years after a U.S. District Court judge overturned his 30-year conviction for the 1992 murder of Eddie Harp, Jones is now one step closer to fully disentangling from the criminal legal system.
He has been living in North Carolina since his release, still under federal supervision, working as a quality assurance specialist and paraprofessional at a mental health services organization. If he wants to leave the state, he has to ask the probation office for permission. Up until May, he was not allowed to re-enter the state of Connecticut.
All the while, the threat that the appeals court could overturn Hall’s decision has loomed over Jones. “It was hard. It caused me a lot of anxiety,” said Jones. He always wondered “whether I would be put back in prison.”
That concern has not entirely disappeared, although the chance is now low that Jones will be re-imprisoned for Harp’s murder. According to Jones’s lawyer, Alex Taubes, the state could decide to appeal the appeals court’s decision further to the U.S. Supreme Court. Or, the state’s attorney could choose to re-try Jones for the 1994 murder.
The state’s attorney’s office did not respond to a request for comment in time for the publication of this story.
Jones was convicted in 1995 of the murder of Harp, who was shot and killed in his car outside Saint Raphael’s Hospital in October 1992. Jones was 19 at the time, and he professed his innocence throughout the nearly 31 subsequent years he spent in prison.
In the summer of 2023, U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall overturned Jones’s conviction on two grounds: that the public defender representing Jones failed to adequately defend him, and that the trial court erred in a decision to exclude the testimony of someone to whom another shooter confessed.
The state appealed, arguing that Hall had not met the appropriate legal standard of finding that a lower court’s decision was “beyond any possibility for fairminded disagreement.”
On Tuesday, two of the three federal appeals court judges, Barrington Parker and Eunice Lee, affirmed Hall’s decision. They wrote that “admittedly, the burden of proof required to obtain relief… is a difficult one… However, if that high standard is met in any case, it is met here. Jones’s trial attorney straight-forwardly failed to provide effective representation, and Jones was prejudiced as a result.”
A third judge, Richard Sullivan, dissented. He argued that that the district court should have shown more deference to lower courts — and more benefit of the doubt to Jones’s former attorney. “We must presume competence and ‘affirmatively entertain the range of possible reasons [the defendant]’s counsel may have had for proceeding as [he] did’ — even if the attorney himself ‘could not conjure up’ any reason for his decisions,” Sullivan wrote, citing the case Cullen v. Pinholster .
The state’s original case against Jones rested on the testimony of one witness, Tyrone Spears — a man who himself admitted to perpetrating the shooting, and whose charges were downgraded to manslaughter after his testimony.
Spears initially testified that he, Jones, and a third man all shot at Harp that evening. He would eventually recant his testimony multiple times in court, citing pressure to alleviate the case against him. Ballistic evidence, meanwhile, supported the theory that only two people fired shots that night.
The only other witness to the shooting that night — Sheila McCray, a security guard on duty at Saint Raphael’s Hospital at the time — maintained that she only saw two men, one of whom she identified as Spears. McCray said that police officers wanted her to implicate Jones along with the other two men.
“They were at my job constantly, just harassing me. They wanted me to say that Maleek Jones was the shooter. And I refused,” McCray said in the 2023 advocacy documentary Free Maleek , echoing her testimony at Jones’s 2015 habeas trial. “Because I didn’t know Maleek, but when they started to lay pictures out, they wanted me to say that it was him. And I said no, that’s not who I saw.”
McCray never had a chance to tell this to the jury that convicted Jones. In fact, she was never contacted by Jones’s lawyer, public defender Leo Ahern.
In August 2023, Judge Hall found that Ahern was derelict for not hiring an investigator to look into the case, despite having the resources to do so. When Jones’s family tried to enlist a private investigator of their own, they were scammed.
Just over a month after Hall’s decision that August, Jones was released from prison. He hugged his mom, tasted a slice of Modern pizza , and swiftly moved down to North Carolina — where he agreed to reside while under federal supervision as the state appealed Hall’s decision.
Lawyer Taubes, who pointed out that the dissenting judge on the appeals court was appointed by President Donald Trump, said that if the state decides not to appeal and to dismiss the charges, “Maleek Jones could finally have a taste of what real freedom would look like.”
Jones awaits the state’s next steps at a time when the city has become more acutely aware than ever of the potential dire financial consequences of a network of wrongful convictions tracing back to witness coercion and other misconduct rampant in the New Haven Police Department during the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.
The city recently settled three wrongful conviction lawsuits by Adam Carmon , Vernon Horn and Marquis Jackson for a total of $47 million. Meanwhile, the city is currently appealing a historic $38 million jury award for the wrongful conviction of Stefon Morant . Additional wrongful conviction lawsuits by George Gould, the surviving family of Ronald Taylor , and Dixwell/Newhallville Alder Troy Streater are ongoing. By law, the city is paying for the legal defense of the former police officers facing these lawsuits, and has so far taken the financial responsibility for the settlements.
Asked whether he intends to join these men in suing the city, and whether he plans to submit a wrongful conviction claim to the state, Jones said he isn’t sure. “This is all coming at me at once,” he said. “I haven’t really sat down to really think about all of that stuff right now.”
Jones was convicted “in the same year — months apart, not even in a three months span” from both Carmon and Morant’s co-defendant, Scott Lewis. In the police report detailing Jones’s arrest for Harp’s murder, Detective Thomas Trocchio noted that Vincent Raucci , the detective at the center of the Lewis-Morant case, was present for interactions with Spears. “To anyone that’s looking at the stuff that’s going on with New Haven system, there did seem to be a pattern,” he said.
Jones said that there is a need for a more direct reckoning with the police misconduct underpinning his and others’ wrongful convictions.
“No one is really held accountable,” he said. “Evidence was withheld. Witnesses were coerced or there was some unethical things done” in order to secure a conviction. “Nothing happens to any of the officials who were involved in any of these things.”
Laura Glesby is a staff reporter at the New Haven Independent. You can get in touch with her directly here. More by Laura Glesby
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Goldstein: 4.0Tone: 8.8
Carletta Faye Fountain, 71, a beloved mother, loving sister, devoted substance abuse counselor, and talented cosmetologist, peacefully transitioned from this earthly life to her eternal home with the Lord on Tuesday, November 3, 2026.
Born on February 7, 1955, in Greenville, North Carolina, Carletta was the daughter of the late Rosa Love Harris and Charles Merritt and the bonus daughter of the late Jasper Harris.
Throughout her life, she demonstrated unwavering faith, compassion, and a heart for serving others. Her passing marks the completion of an earthly journey filled with love, wisdom, and grace, and the beginning of her eternal rest in the presence of her Heavenly Father.
From her humble beginnings in North Carolina to her many years of service in Connecticut, Carletta dedicated her life to helping others feel better, both inside and out. After graduating from J. H. Rose High School in 1973, she relocated to Connecticut to be closer to family, especially her beloved big sister, Cheryl. Determined to further her education and pursue her passions, Carletta attended South Central Community College, Southern Connecticut State University, and Wilfred Academy of Hair and Beauty Culture.
Carletta’s professional journey reflected her passion for helping others. She served as a substance abuse counselor and therapist, including at Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center’s Northside Program. Her professional experience also included positions at Iota Job Corps, the YMCA, and Southern New England Telephone (SNET). As a counselor, she worked tirelessly to improve the lives of individuals and families affected by addiction, offering guidance, encouragement, compassion, and hope to those navigating difficult circumstances.
Following her career in counseling, Carletta fulfilled another lifelong dream by becoming a licensed cosmetologist. With her creative hands and warm spirit, she brought beauty and confidence to countless women and men. She worked at Ward’s House of Style, where the owner and head stylist, affectionately known as “Hot Dog,” lovingly nicknamed her the “Princess Queen of Ward’s.” She also shared her talents at McAdoo’s Barbershop in New Haven, Connecticut. For Carletta, hairstyling was more than a profession; it was another opportunity to connect with people, offer encouragement, share laughter, and make others feel special. Her creativity, compassion, and memorable salon conversations left a lasting impression on everyone who sat in her chair.
Carletta’s life was deeply rooted in her Christian faith, which began at Mt. Calvary Free Will Baptist Church in Greenville, North Carolina. Her faith remained a guiding force throughout her life. In her later years, she became a faithful member of Body of Christ Assemblies, where she continued her spiritual journey. Through her words and actions, she demonstrated the importance of kindness, humility, generosity, and love, instilling these same values in her children.
Above all, Carletta cherished her family. As a devoted mother, she loved her children wholeheartedly and found her greatest joy in spending time with those she held dear. She especially enjoyed cooking for her family, with Christmas morning breakfast holding a special place in her heart. Nothing brought her more happiness than preparing a delicious meal and watching her boys eat, eat, and eat some more! Those treasured moments around the table, filled with good food, laughter, and love, will forever remain precious family memories.
Carletta was a woman of many talents and creative passions. She found joy in cooking, singing, and watching classic black-and-white movies, especially her all-time favorite, Imitation of Life . A gifted artist with a creative spirit, she enjoyed making beautiful crafts and expressing herself through her many artistic talents. One of her favorite ways to show love was by making no-sew blankets for family and friends. Each blanket was more than a handmade gift; it was a special expression of her love, warmth, and thoughtfulness. Whether she was preparing a delicious meal, singing a favorite song, creating something beautiful, or enjoying a classic movie, Carletta embraced life’s simple pleasures and found meaningful ways to share them with those she loved.
Carletta was preceded in death by her parents, Rosa Love Harris and Charles Merritt; her bonus father, Jasper Harris; and one granddaughter.
She leaves to cherish her loving memory, her three beloved children, Corey Merritt, Charles Merritt (Shaquana), and Anya Fountain, who were the pride and joy of her life. She poured her heart into raising her children with the same faith, strength, and love that shaped her own life, leaving them a legacy they will continue to carry forward.
She also leaves to cherish her memory, three loving sisters, Cheryl Merritt, Catherine Harvey (Michael), and Porchia Merritt; two brothers, Calvin Merritt and Craig Merritt (Rosemarie); special godbrothers, Danny Stancil (Alice) and Duane Dixon (Kosannya); a godsister, Lisa Lovette (Andre); a thoughtful daughter-in-love, Kellene Durham; thirteen grandchildren; one great-grandson; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, extended family members, and dear friends whose lives were enriched by her presence.
Those who had the privilege of knowing Carletta will fondly remember her gentle spirit, caring heart, and distinctively slow, soft-spoken manner of speaking. She had a way of making others feel comfortable and reassured, offering a listening ear, a thoughtful word, or simply her comforting presence. Her strength, courage, and resilience were an inspiration to those around her.
Although our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of her earthly presence, we find comfort in knowing that Carletta is now resting peacefully in the arms of her Savior, reunited with loved ones who preceded her in death.
As we say goodbye for now, we hold tightly to the beautiful memories, the lessons she taught, the love she freely gave, and the many lives she touched along the way. Her earthly journey may have ended, but her legacy of faith, love, service, and compassion will live on for generations to come.
Carletta’s light will forever shine in the hearts of those who loved her. She will be deeply missed, lovingly remembered, and never forgotten.
A celebration of Carletta’s life will take place Friday, November 13, 2026 at 11:00 AM at St. Matthew’s UFW Baptist Church, 400 Dixwell Ave, New Haven, CT 06511. Friends may call Friday at the church from 10:00 – 11:00 AM. Interment will be at Beaverdale Memorial Park, New Haven. Services by Howard K. Hill Funeral Services, 1287 Chapel St, New Haven, CT 06511. To leave a message of comfort for the Fountain family, please visit, www.hkhfuneralservices.com
Open article →GDELTConnecticut
Goldstein: 4.0Tone: 5.1
Tiretha Ann Carr, born Tiretha Ann Wright, was born on October 17, 1950, in Denver, Colorado, to the late Sonia Rentie Wright and Edward Wright. She attended East High School in Denver, Colorado, where she spent her formative years.
In June 1969, Tiretha married John Carr, Sr. During their marriage, they built a family together and experienced many adventures as she traveled alongside him during his service in the United States Air Force. After welcoming three children, the family eventually settled in 1978 in New Haven, Connecticut, where they welcomed their youngest child in 1980 and continued building their lives.
Throughout her life, Tiretha was a hardworking woman who dedicated herself to caring for others. She worked in nursing homes and as a caregiver in both Denver, Colorado and New Haven, Connecticut. Her compassionate nature was reflected in the work she did and the people she cared for. Earlier in life, she also worked at a record shop in Denver alongside her siblings Betty and Edward “Bow” Wright, Jr., creating memories and sharing experiences with her family.
Outside of work, Tiretha enjoyed the simple things that brought her happiness. She spent time sewing alongside her mother, a pastime that connected them through creativity and shared moments. She also enjoyed watching her favorite television shows, including Gunsmoke and WWE. These familiar comforts and interests were among the things that made her uniquely herself.
Tiretha’s greatest legacy is the family she leaves behind. She will be lovingly remembered by her children: James (Tishshanna) Carr of Branford, CT, Omar Carr, Michelle (Raysan) Mantilla, and John Carr, Jr. all of New Haven, CT.
She also leaves behind seven grandchildren: Tytus Patterson, Alyssa Carr, Tyrelle Patterson, John Carr, III, Maurece Carr, Jaida Carr, and Mariah Mantilla; and two great-grandchildren, Kaiser Patterson and Sol Carr-Richard, who will carry her memory and legacy into future generations.
Tiretha was preceded in death by her beloved parents, Sonia Rentie Wright and Edward Wright, and her siblings, Donald Rentie, Debra Rentie, Betty Wright, Steve Wright, Edward “Bow” Wright, Jr., and David Wright all of Denver, Colorado.
She is survived by her brother, Richard Wright of Denver, Colorado.
On Saturday, October 31, 2026, Tiretha peacefully departed this life in New Haven, Connecticut. Though her presence will be deeply missed, the memories she created, the family she raised, and the love she leaves behind will forever remain in the hearts of those who knew and loved her.
Her life was a blessing, her memory a treasure, and her legacy will live on through generations.
A celebration of her life will take place Friday, November 13, 2026 at 11:00 AM at Beulah Heights First Pentecostal Church, 782 Orchard St, New Haven, CT 06511. Friends may call Friday at the church from 10:00 – 11:00 AM. Interment will be private. Services by Howard K. Hill Funeral Services, 1287 Chapel St, New Haven, CT 06511. To leave a message of comfort for the Carr family, please visit, www.hkhfuneralservices.com
Open article →GDELTConnecticut
Goldstein: 3.5Tone: 2.6
After hearing an hour of public testimony about Elm City Montessori School’s inclusive community, rigorous hands-on curriculum, and “life-saving” social and emotional development, New Haven’s school board unanimously voted in support of the school’s charter renewal.
That local vote was the first step in a charter-renewal process that now heads to the Connecticut Board of Education for review.
Elm City Montessori School (ECMS) is the state’s only local charter school. That means that the PreK-8 school receives funding from and requires certain approvals from the city’s Board of Education, while still operating with a certain level of independence from the city’s public school district.
Dozens of speakers testified Monday evening during the Board of Education’s meeting at King/Robinson School with at least 80 people filling the room.
The duration of the charter renewal is ultimately up to the state Board of Education, which is scheduled to take a vote on this matter in March. New Haven’s Board of Education last voted in support of ECMS’ charter renewal in January 2023.
ECMS families, current and former students, and staffers urged New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) to sign off on the charter renewal. ECMS Principal Julia Webb also presented to the board about school’s progress, approaches, and partnerships with NHPS since its founding in 2014.
ECMS serves 320 students for the 2026-27 school year at its 495 Blake St. campus. On Monday, the school’s supporters turned out in green t-shirts and sweaters sporting the ECMS name and logo.
Webb’s presentation detailed that 99 percent of ECMS’ student body is made up of New Haveners. Its chronic absenteeism rates averaged 14 percent between 2024 and 2026.
The presentation showed that 42 percent of the school’s third- through eighth-grade students tested this year as proficient in English Language Arts, and 27 percent tested as proficient in math.
People who testified on Monday detailed not just the academic work ECMS does but also the school’s dedication to help students develop their character and leadership skills through community partnerships and learning.
Former ECMS student and current Wilbur Cross High School junior Emery Thomas said that many of the lessons she learned at ECMS remain useful to her beyond the classroom. Thomas said that ECMS “played such an important role in who I am today.”
She told the board that ECMS teachers and staff “did much more than just teach us academic materials.” They also created an environment where students were encouraged to become independent, compassionate, and competent leaders.
Thomas said that the leadership skills she developed at ECMS motivated her to become the captain of her high school’s volleyball team.
“I hope you all allow future generations of students to get experience, the same encouragement, opportunities, and sense of belonging that I did,” Thomas said.
ECMS Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) Coordinator Emily Sorensen, who lives in Hartford, said the foundation of social and emotional learning at ECMS plays a huge role in the experiences that staff, students, and families have on a daily basis.
She described ECMS’ SEL work as “not simply a curriculum, or a response to challenging behavior, but it’s a commitment to how we see our children, understand them, and how we build our community.”
The school focuses on supporting students’ emotional regulation, conflict resolution, and repairing community harm. She said that that aims to make young people better members of communities as they grow up. Their work also helps students develop the skills to listen, express their needs, take accountability, work through disagreements, and be mentors for others.
“Through practices like conscious discipline, and restorative approaches, children are learning skills about how to work together, how to assert boundaries, and how to build community,” Sorensen said. “When students learn these skills early on, they carry them throughout their time at ECMS and in their life, beyond their school.”
Christina Sanchez, the parent of a second-grade student at ECMS, added that she is often learning life skills from her daughter. She said that one time she thought her daughter was eating grass, and her daughter showed her she was actually eating an edible plant called red clover, which she learned about during her weekly hikes at ECMS. Sanchez said she has long admired ECMS’ outdoor learning curriculum and how integral it is to students’ overall learning.
Sanchez said she often hears parents say that they wish their child’s school taught more life skills, or taught students how to be better citizens, or had more outdoor learning opportunities. She said she doesn’t have to wish for those things because they are already happening at ECMS. “Every time I hear those types of conversations, I have to bite my tongue as to not brag about how Elm City Montessori has that, and it does that, and it gives our students opportunity that so many people don’t have and I’m so grateful for that,” she said.
Sanchez concluded that she hopes the school’s charter will be renewed so that more New Haven families have the opportunity to experience all that ECMS has to offer.
The city’s Board of Education held a brief discussion on Monday before voting in support of EMCS’ charter renewal.
Board members celebrated the success ECMS has had over the years with a model that teaches peer-to-peer mentorship, life skills, and social-emotional development.
“What you see on that campus is you see people of all different kinds of persuasions, orientations, mindsets, that sacrifice whatever their personal issues are, for the benefit of the children,” Board of Education Secretary Edward Joyner said. “It is one of the most phenomenal educational institutions in my lifetime.”
Open article →GDELTIndiana
Goldstein: 2.8Tone: 5.5
Rossville, Ind. (WLFI) - The Rossville Consolidated School District Board of Education has unanimously approved the 2026-2027 teacher contract.
The contract authorizes salary increases for eligible teachers, and higher district contributions toward employee health insurance.
The agreement between the district and the Rossville Classroom Teachers Association covers July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2027. Representatives reached a tentative agreement on Oct. 23.
Under the approved compensation plan, eligible teachers will receive an $800 increase to their base salaries based on their previous year’s evaluations. Teachers must have earned an effective or highly effective rating and worked at least 120 days during the prior year to qualify.
An additional base salary increase of up to $200 is available to teachers initially qualifying under the contract’s academic need category, which addresses qualifications for Indiana College Core dual credit courses or assignments to comparable Advanced Placement courses.
The agreement also provides a separate $200 base salary differential for teachers whose valid Indiana teaching licenses include a literacy endorsement. The differential is awarded only once and requires documentation and district verification.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, the district’s annual health insurance contribution will increase by $500 for both coverage levels, bringing its contribution to $9,000 for single coverage and $16,000 for family coverage.
Starting pay for a teacher with no experience or additional educational attainment is $46,500, or $46,700 with a literacy endorsement. New teacher salary bands range from $46,500 to $62,000, depending on experience and educational attainment. The agreement allows starting salaries up to $3,000 above the applicable band for certain high-need positions or positions attracting three or fewer qualified applicants.
The contract also increases the base used to calculate extracurricular compensation from $46,000 to $46,500.
Board members approved the master contract and several personnel appointments in a single unanimous vote.
Kyle McMains was approved as a temporary, part-time agriculture teacher beginning Nov. 11 and continuing through the remainder of the school year. His compensation will equal four-sevenths of a base teacher contract, prorated for 120 days.
Nicolis Halsema was approved as a computer technician, with his start contingent on successfully completing a background check. Kaitlin Green was approved as a substitute teacher.
Carlee Potts was appointed to a special needs teaching position beginning Nov. 30. Her annual compensation of $60,500 will be prorated for the remaining days of the contract.
In other business, the board unanimously approved five policies following their second reading. New policies address board membership in state and national organizations and teaching controversial subjects. Revised policies concern board-superintendent relations, disclosure of education records and investment of public funds.
The meeting also recognized Joe Hufford for more than 13 years of school board service, including 12 years as board president. Interviews with Clay Township school board candidates Joseph Cadwell and Ashley Brunton were included on the agenda.
Members unanimously approved the Nov. 3 regular-session minutes, claims, and payroll. Field trip reports listed Dec. 7 visits to the Rossville Community Library for both morning and afternoon preschool classes.
The board’s next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m.
Copyright 2026 WLFI. All rights reserved.
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