Natrona County School District employees will see another salary increase for the 2008-2009 school year, as the school board adopted the upcoming year's budget on Wednesday night.

The recommendation for the $4.8 million salary increase was made by the Compact Issues Committee, and should put the district within the 85 percentile for pay nationwide.

No one from the public commented during the hearing.

The board approved a similar salary increase for 2007-2008, which added $432 to the salary schedules for certified, administration, psychologists and exempt classified staff. For classified staff who are paid an hourly rate, their increase was 21 cents an hour, totaling a $436 raise a year.

Doreen McGlade, president of the Natrona County Education Association, said Natrona County struggles to compete with other districts in terms of starting teacher salaries, but implements certain initiatives that cost more, like 17-to-1 student-teacher ratios.

The district does a good job of balancing the needs of its employees and it students, McGlade said.

"We could be building salaries sky high," she said. "I'm proud of the fact that we're doing the right thing by our students and our employees."

The CIC also recommended an increase in substitute pay. Pay will increase $10 a day for permit-holding and certified substitutes and $20 a day for substitutes on daily assignments. Long term substitutes will see an increase of $50 a day.

Natrona County will also have a $46.9 million construction budget for the upcoming year, which is less than the $70 million it had last year.

Included in those funds is $7.5 million for buying property for a new east side elementary school and a new high school.

The state provides all the funding for construction, said Steve Hopkins, the associate superintendent of business services. Hopkins said the legislators and taxpayers deserve to be recognized for contributing to education.

"Those are the people who gives us the world class resources to do what we are doing," Hopkins said. "There is obviously someone to be thanked when we look at the things we get to do as a school district."

Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com