Civil Municipal - May 2024

particularly in the hiring and sustaining of high- caliber teaching staff. These challenges are not unique to any one district but are felt across the board, from rural to urban settings. In the context of Greenfield-Central Community Schools, Dr. Olin offers a transparent look into the proactive strategies and innovative financial management approaches they have implemented to attract and retain talent within their district. “Nathaniel (Nate) Day has been my business manager for five years now, and we have been incredibly aggressive about increasing teacher salaries,” he shares, highlighting a cornerstone of their strategy to enhance teacher recruitment and retention. With an impressive increase of over $12,000 in starting salaries over the last five years, Greenfield-Central has made significant strides toward becoming a more attractive employer.“We’ve moved the needle on that average teacher salary from $49,000 to almost $64,000,” Dr. Olin elaborates, underlining the district’s focus on prioritizing education dollars for teacher compensation. This ambitious approach necessitated finding efficiencies in other areas of operations and leveraging grants to support critical programs without compromising teacher salaries. Dr. Olin illustrates this with examples of substantial grants received aimed at bolstering counseling, social work, literacy initiatives, and STEM education.These grants enhance the educational offerings and ensure that a significant portion of the budget can be dedicated to improving teacher pay, a critical factor in teacher satisfaction and retention. INFRASTRUCTURE ENHANCEMENTS SUPPORTING EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE In the ever-evolving landscape of educational facilities management, the challenge of maintaining and upgrading infrastructure to meet the needs of a diverse student body and curriculum is paramount. Within this context, Nate Day unpacks the strategic decisions and investments undertaken by Greenfield- 195 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 05, ISSUE 05 GREENF IELD-CENTRAL COMMUNI TY SCHOOLS