At its regular meeting, Monday, August 21, the Moran Township school board ratified two-year contracts for teachers and support staff, which included annual 2.3 percent raises for teachers and 1.5 percent raises for support staff. The board also redesigned the pay scale and limited the maximum pay that teachers with exceptional education and experience can make in the district.

To ensure that the district can afford to run Gros Cap's kindergarten through-8th grade school in the future, said superintendent Bill Peltier, the board eliminated a portion of its old contract which detailed the pay scale for teachers with master's degrees plus 20 additional college credits. Had the board not done so, teachers with the highest level of experience (30 years or more) and master's degrees would have been entitled to more than $60,000 a year, Mr. Peltier said, an amount the district could not afford.

There are three pay designations left. The first is for certified teachers with bachelor's degrees and no additional college credits. At Gros Cap, these teachers begin at $34,250 and can work their way up to $55,250 after 30 years. The second is for teachers with bachelor's degrees and 18 additional college credits, who begin at $35,750 and can work their way up to $56,750. The third is for teachers with master's degrees who begin at $57,250 and can work their way up to $58,250. With the elimination of the master's plus-20 credits designation, this becomes the new maximum teachers can make at Gros Cap.

Teacher's insurance coverage was also changed. For years, many teachers and support staff in Michigan had MESSA Super Care I. Now, teachers at Gros Cap will have MESSA Choices II.

The change means teachers and support staff will now pay higher co-pays for prescriptions, but the new insurance package is cheaper by $2,000 per family, Mr. Peltier said. Super Care I, though widely considered excellent insurance, included a premium which cost $18,000 a year for each family covered. Choices II costs $16,000 a year. Formerly, each family paid $1,200 of the $2,000 difference, and the district paid $800.

Staff members will also have to utilize doctors in a specific network. This should not present a problem, however, Mr. Peltier

said. Almost all doctors in Michigan, particularly in the Upper Peninsula, are part of the network, and important out-ofstate services such as the Mayo Clinic also accept MESSA Choices II.

In other business, Gros Cap received two federal grants, a United States Department of Education Indian Education grant for $8,542 and a Rural Education grant for $15,364. The Indian Education grant will be used to buy teaching supplies to support the mathematics, social studies, and English curriculums, Mr. Peltier said. The Rural Education grant will be used to provide supplemental instruction for students.

Gros Cap's half-time special education teacher, Jonas Halonen, will provide the additional services. He will work an extra hour a day to provide one-on-one and group tutoring to students who need extra help the most, Mr. Peltier said.