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SNEA president urges Springfield R‑XII board to act on low retention and pay gaps as budget process continues
Summary
At Monday’s Springfield R‑XII Board meeting, SNEA President Laura Mullins told trustees the district’s three‑year retention rate is 45.5% and said several support groups are paid 10–15% below peers; district business staff presented an operating‑fund overview and a timeline for June budget votes.
Laura Mullins, president of the Springfield National Education Association, used the board’s public‑comment period to press the Springfield R‑XII Board of Education for faster action on employee pay and retention. “The SPS three‑year retention rate was only 45.5%,” Mullins told the board, and she said some groups — including school psychologists, school resource officers and paraprofessionals — are paid “almost 15%” and “over 10%” below comparable districts.
The comments preceded a detailed presentation by Executive Director of Business Services Cara Stacell on the district’s operating fund for 2025–26. Stacell said the district’s operating fund is primarily supported by local and state revenue, that salaries and benefits represent roughly 75–80% of operating expenditures, and that district policy and the strategic plan call for a fund balance near 15–17% to maintain fiscal stability.
“We have the fund balance carryover from a prior year,” Stacell said while walking through revenue charts, and she warned that salary and benefits are the largest ongoing expense that must be balanced against revenue. Stacell told the board she would provide a follow‑up breakdown of insurance costs after a board member asked why medical is paid at 100% for eligible employees while dental is paid at 71%.
Mullins also criticized recent administrative compensation increases and cited line items school staff flagged in internal decisions: she told the board administrators’ contracts for 2025–26 reflect a 10–14% increase and noted an $80,000 allotment tied to promotions. Mullins said those administrative spending trends make it harder to accept calls for budget cuts that affect other employees.
Stacell answered questions from board members about how DESE guidance determines whether salaries are coded to the teacher fund or the general fund, and she reiterated the district’s timeline for budget decisions: small group meetings in the coming weeks, a budget recommendation on June 10, and a final recommendation and vote at the June 24 meeting.
The board did not take immediate budget action Monday; trustees voted later in the meeting on several capital and facilities items. The budget schedule means any changes to compensation or allocation that require board approval will be considered at the June meetings.
