Monticello Schools may not be impacted very much by the upcoming minimum wage hike and the likely passage of the minimum teacher salary legislation in Illinois. 

Superintendent Dr. Vic Zimmerman says they are competitive in their starting pay for a lot of positions but will have to make adjustments. He is worried that perhaps raising the minimum wage could create fewer employment opportunities in the future.

The minimum teacher salary is not going to impact Monticello Schools and Dr. Zimmerman says they are very competitive for the area in terms of teacher salaries. He explains while they want to be able to pay teachers and staff as much as they can but those funds have to come from taxpayers and they have a limited amount of funds.

Dr. Zimmerman indicates districts are finding themselves with more students with special needs and high needs and that requires more staff, which means more costs. 

As for Monticello, Dr. Zimmerman anticipates the legislation not having a big impact on their budget as long as their revenues stay consistent.