Jim Thorpe Area School District administrators will receive improved retirement benefits and a new four-year contract under an Act 93 Management Compensation Plan the school board approved Thursday night, replacing an agreement that had two years remaining.

The new plan, which runs from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2030, covers building principals, assistant principals, directors and other supervisory personnel below the rank of superintendent.

“What we did is make this contract in line with some of the items that were part of the teachers’ contract that we passed,” Director Mary Figura said.

One position not covered under the previous contract is now included: a special education coordinator working a 196-day contract. The new agreement also explicitly establishes leave benefits for all 196-day administrators, setting 12 sick days, two emergency days, two personal days and eight vacation days per year.

Among the most significant financial changes is an increase in the value of unused sick leave paid out at retirement. Under the expiring contract, administrators received a flat $90 per day for accumulated unused sick leave regardless of years of service. The new agreement raises that to $100 per day for employees with up to 10 years of service and $150 per day for those with 11 or more years.

The new contract also eliminates sunset provisions in the prior agreement that would have significantly reduced post-retirement medical coverage for administrators retiring after June 30, 2028. Under the old contract, those administrators would have received only five years of health insurance coverage and only individual coverage, with no provision for a spouse. The new agreement removes those restrictions, restoring the pre-2028 benefit for eligible retirees: up to 12 years of coverage for administrators with 15 or more years of district service and up to six years for those with 10 or more years, in each case until the retiree becomes eligible for Medicare.

The new contract also eases the terms under which administrators must repay tuition reimbursement if they leave the district. The prior contract required repayment on a sliding scale over three years — 100% if leaving immediately after reimbursement, 66.67% after one year and 33.33% after two years. The new agreement shortens that window to two years, with repayment of 100% if leaving within 12 months and 50% if leaving between 12 and 24 months.

Both contracts provide a 3% annual raise to administrators who receive a satisfactory evaluation, with no raise given in any year following an unsatisfactory evaluation. Administrators who receive an unsatisfactory evaluation are to be provided an improvement plan and district support to return to satisfactory status.

Administrators who retire with at least 15 years of full-time district service remain eligible for a one-time $10,000 payment deposited into a 403(b) retirement account, along with a loyalty incentive of $200 for each year of service, also deposited into a 403(b). Longevity stipends — paid annually into a 403(b) — remain unchanged at $500 for five to nine years of service, $1,000 for 10 to 14 years and $1,500 for 15 or more years.