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School Benchmarks · October 2026
Sycamore's teacher pay has caught up with the top of the local market
- A decade at the top. From year 15 through year 24, a Sycamore teacher with a master's earns about as much as at the best-paying neighbor.
- The low average salary reflects a less experienced staff, not low pay. Of the nine districts, Sycamore has the smallest share of experienced teachers.
- The current contract drove the gain. Its raises total 10.6% over three years, the most of the nine.
This compares Sycamore's 2026–27 teacher salary schedule with those of eight nearby districts: Forest Hills, Indian Hill, Kings, Lakota, Loveland, Madeira, Mason and Wyoming. Mariemont is left out because its 2026–27 schedule could not be found.
1. Sycamore pays at or near the top of the nine districts for mid-career teachers with a master's
3. Sycamore moved up through the largest raises of the nine districts
Before this contract, in 2023–24, Sycamore was within 1% of the top-paying neighbor in none of years 15–24 on the master's scale; today it is in seven.
4. Next: what the next contract and other cost drivers do to the forecast
The next analysis will model Sycamore's five-year forecast under different scenarios: raise levels in the next teacher contract, shifts in the staff's experience mix as teachers retire and new ones are hired, and the district's other high-cost or fast-growing spending areas.
5. Method and sources
- Districts. Sycamore and the eight nearby districts whose 2026–27 salary schedules were available: Forest Hills, Indian Hill, Kings, Lakota, Loveland, Madeira, Mason and Wyoming. Madeira is the only one whose board sets pay without collective bargaining.
- Salary schedules. Each district's 2026–27 schedule. Every figure was checked against the schedule's own index, a second copy of the schedule, or the prior year's schedule times the stated raise; Sycamore's matches its 2024–27 teacher contract. Comparisons use each district's plain bachelor's and master's columns; the credits chart uses its columns beyond a master's. Pay the contracts set outside the table is included: Sycamore's $1,000 a year at step 26 and above, and Lakota's $5,000 a year in Ohio service years 28–32. Step numbers are treated as years of experience, except at Lakota and Loveland, whose first step is year 0.
- Raises. Base raises by district from the Madeira Planning Commission's 2026 salary study, with 2026–27 raises for Kings, Lakota, Loveland and Madeira from their schedules. Raises are compounded. The 2023–24 comparison divides each 2026–27 schedule by the district's raises since then, which assumes each raise lifted the whole schedule.
- Levies. Operating levies and income taxes approved by voters, May 2022 to November 2026, from county boards of elections.
- Experience and average salary. Share of teachers by years of experience: Ohio District Profile Report, 2024–25. Average teacher salary: Ohio School Report Card, 2024–25. Share of Sycamore teachers with a master's degree or more: Ohio School Report Card, 2025–26.
- Limits. Schedules show pay rates, not how many teachers are paid at each rate. How districts credit new hires' prior experience varies and is not captured. Benefits are not included.