Consultant presents market analysis showing district salary gaps; administrators plan targeted follow‑up

Fred Horn of Educational Management Solutions presented the final outcomes of a district compensation market analysis and told the board the firm matched district job duties to similar positions in neighboring school systems to produce apples‑to‑apples comparisons.

Horn said the study looked at roughly 40–50% of district jobs as benchmarks and used the market median as the preferred comparator. “Anytime that you are more than 5% below or above the market, you find it actionable,” he said. The analysis showed larger gaps at starting pay for classified and administrative roles and smaller gaps for certificated teachers. Aggregated figures presented to the board summarized classified staff about 20% behind market, certificated about 9% behind, and administrative positions roughly 27–28% behind market medians.

Nut graf: the report gives the district a diagnostic tool for setting pay targets and prioritizing positions for adjustment; presenters and board members discussed next steps including deeper job‑description alignment and an internal equity phase (job‑description rewrite and internal comparisons) before major schedule changes.

Horn recommended using the median rather than an average to avoid distortion from high or low outliers and offered a second phase to refine job descriptions and internal alignment. Board members said the report will be useful for levy messaging and strategic planning; administrators noted constraints because many comparator districts are larger and have different budgets.

Ending: the board asked administrators to use the study in levy planning and to consider a second phase of work that aligns job descriptions and helps determine which roles the district prioritizes for compensation adjustments.