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District corrects salary‑schedule error and aims for larger year‑to‑year teacher raises
Summary
Board heard a compensation analysis update after staff identified construction errors in a proposed salary schedule. Administrators said they corrected cells that inadvertently compressed pay steps and emphasized targeting roughly $1,000+ year‑to‑year increases in many salary cells.
Trustees spent part of their March 9 meeting focused on a compensation update added to the agenda by motion. Finance staff acknowledged a construction error in the draft salary schedule that produced anomalies in which some bachelor’s/master’s pay cells unintentionally surpassed higher credential steps.
"I made a mistake on what we presented last time and so I think it's just important to note that and explain it," finance director Mr. Shikling told the board as he described changes to restore appropriate progression and to increase several "master's plus 30" cells so veteran educators do not see compression. He said the district was aiming to provide year‑to‑year take‑home increases near $1,000 for most staff and that corrections raised some earlier cells to $1,300–$1,700 in annual take‑home change for targeted steps.
Trustees asked whether the pay scale should extend beyond the current 28‑year step (some districts run 29–30) and whether certain specialized positions (counselors, speech pathologists, mental‑health staff) should be compensated with off‑scale stipends or separate pay structures. Board members said extending the top step or creating targeted stipends could encourage experienced staff to remain in the district rather than retire.
Administration said the district already uses some stipends for off‑scale responsibilities and that it would research whether separating certain roles from the teacher salary matrix would improve recruitment and retention while preserving equity. Staff also noted they would factor any state or county contributions (such as a proposed governor’s $2,000 raise) into final modeling.
What’s next: Staff will refine the salary schedule, run comparative analyses with neighboring districts, and return with modeling showing fiscal impact and options (scale length, targeted stipends, or off‑scale pay) for the board’s consideration before the budget adoption cycle.
