This month’s Catching up on
Contracts focuses on salaries and benefits in the five districts we
reviewed. In four of the featured districts, Oklahoma City Public Schools, Omaha Public Schools, Long Beach Unified School District
and Hartford Public Schools, the salary
changes are nothing out of the ordinary. However, one district, Mesa Public Schools, introduced a complete
overhaul of its previous salary structure this school year.
Mesa Public Schools (AZ), (July
1, 2015 – June 30, 2016)
Salary
First, a little background: Mesa
Public Schools is Arizona’s
largest school district, but over the last decade, its enrollment declined by
about 9,000 students. As a result, district revenues have decreased creating a
budget gap and teacher salaries have been frozen for the past four years with
the exception of pay increases for advanced degrees. A steering committee,
tasked to find solutions to the district’s fiscal crisis, met over the
2013-2014 school year and came up with a new compensation plan unlike most in NCTQ’s
Teacher
Contract Database:
The district moved from the traditional step and lane salary structure
to one where placement on the salary schedule and base salaries are calculated for
each employee, each school year.
- For new teachers with no previous experience, base pay starts at
$36,500. - For returning teachers, base pay is calculated using the previous year’s
salary and any adjustments and education compensation earned by the teacher.
Base salaries and incentive pay are not guaranteed at set amounts. As
the collective bargaining agreement states, those expenditures are dependent on
available funds which fluctuate based “on [the] revenue that the District
receives from…state sales tax revenue, state land trust sales, and gaming
proceeds.”
While traditional “lanes” or “columns” for advanced
degrees have been eliminated, the district still offers compensation for
advanced degrees and educational credits. Specifically, the district:
- Awards one-time $1,000 stipends for MA and EdD or PhD degrees; and
- Offers teachers
ongoing raises (up to a maximum) for completing individual courses. Teachers
receive $65 per graduate credit up to a maximum of 45 credits beyond a BA degree
and 60 credits beyond an MA degree. Tuition reimbursements have been
eliminated. - Teachers who completed coursework and earned an advanced degree before
the start of the current school year were granted a one-time opportunity to
move over a column on the old salary schedule, to set their base pay on the new
salary system.
Additional pay may be earned for:
- Teaching in a hard-to-staff field,
which includes subjects like high school math or science and special education. - Earning National Board Certification, which will be awarded
an annual stipend of $800. - Gaining experience; teachers earn $500 per each additional year of
teaching.
In addition to these structural changes, Mesa’s new salary system:
- Includes a 1 percent across-the-board salary increase for employees in
2014-2015; and - Offers teachers up to a 2 percent salary increase for missed steps since
2009.
At present, the district does not offer pay related to performance, but
an advisory committee is working to establish guidelines to offer additional
compensation when a teacher meets certain performance levels.
Ultimately, with all the changes in Mesa’s new salary system, it’s difficult to compare salaries under
the previous contract to the current one. At face value, it seems as though teachers
are taking home slightly less money than they were before. (For example, based on the system as it stands
now, a teacher with a BA and five years of experience earned $40,392 in
2013-2014 compared to $39,000 this year). But while certain positions may have
lower salaries than before, individual teachers moving through the salary
system won’t feel a loss. The district explicitly stated that its top priority
with the new salary system is to ensure no current employee sees a reduction in
compensation (see here).
The bottom line is that it seems as though a lot of the details in Mesa’s new salary system are still
being ironed out. We will keep you posted as details develop.
New teacher orientation
- The district’s new contract also reduces the new-teacher orientation
period from four days to one.
Oklahoma City Public Schools
(OK), (July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015)
Salary
- This school year, teachers receive a 1.5 percent cost of living
adjustment.
Omaha Public Schools (NB), July
1, 2014 – June 30, 2015)
Salary and benefits
- This school year, teachers receive an average 3 percent increase in
salary and health insurance.
Long Beach Unified School District
(CA), July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015)
Salary and benefits
- The current contract notes a 3 percent salary increase retroactive to the
2013-2014 school year (which will feel like an increase this year). Beginning
in 2014, limits kick in which restrict the annual increase in health care
premium contributions by the district (excluding the lowest cost HMO) to 3.5
percent annually. If premiums increase by more than 3.5 percent, teachers will
bear the additional costs.
Hartford Public Schools (CT),
July 1, 2014, June 30, 2017)
Salary and benefits
- This school year, teachers receive a 4.5 percent cost of living increase. The district’s
contribution to the health insurance premium for employees and employees’
dependents will gradually drop over the next few years,
from 86 percent in 2014-2015 to 85 percent in 2015-2016 and 83 percent in
2016-2017.
