SJSD Board of Education approves 3-tier Career Ladder program

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- After asking St. Joseph School District leadership to take another look at the Career Ladder proposal, the Board of Education approved a three-tier program for 2026-2027 on Monday night.

The updated plan comes after the first plan presented by district officials was voted down a month ago.

The updated plan is a three-tiered system that will start at Tier 1 for educators with two or more years of experience in Missouri public schools and who have completed 50 hours of approved student contact/professional learning. The maximum annual stipend for Tier 1 is set at $1,348.

In the proposed Tier 2, it's for educators with three or more years of experience in Missouri public schools and have completed at least 75 hours of approved student contact/professional learning. The maximum stipend for Tier 2 is set at $2,697.

While in the proposed Tier 3, educators with five or more years of experience in Missouri and who have completed at least 100 hours of approved student contact/professional learning can earn a maximum stipend of $4,495.

This proposal is different than the original plan presented last month, which only had a two-tier system with maximum earnings set at $1,500 for Tier 1 and $3,000 for Tier 2.

The new proposal is less than last year's three-tier system. The former plan had Tier 1 earners making a maximum of $1,500, Tier 2 earners up to $3,000 and Tier 3 topping out at potentially $5,000.

The new three-tier plan passed, 7-0, Monday night.