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Teachers urge full CPI‑U raise as public comment fills board room
Summary
Multiple district educators told the board that the administration's 2% salary offer fails to match CPI‑U inflation of 2.63%, warning it will erode recruitment, morale and long‑term pay schedules and asking the board to direct administrators to meet the full CPI‑U plus lanes and steps.
A series of teachers and parents used the public‑comment portion of the May 18 meeting to press the board to approve a full CPI‑U inflationary salary increase of 2.63% plus lane and step movement for qualifying staff, saying the district’s current 2% offer would reduce real wages.
"So our union negotiating team came to the district and asked for a CPI U increase of 2.63% along with steps and lanes for those teachers who qualify," said Greg Shams, a Central High social studies teacher and parent. Several other speakers echoed that ask, describing second jobs taken by colleagues, rising health‑care out‑of‑pocket costs and the cumulative effect of past freezes on the salary schedule.
Eric Martin, a Logan High teacher, put the offer in moral terms: "This pay cut feels morally wrong." Martin and others provided historical and household income context, citing higher projected inflation and describing how even a small percentage gap compounds across a career.
Union leadership and classroom teachers asked the board to give a clear directive to administration during budget planning and contract negotiations, noting the district’s relatively small dollar difference (several speakers estimated about $259,000 district‑wide) and the outsized morale impact. Jill Shams, president of the LEA, urged collaboration and cautioned that proposed package language that bundles longevity with a smaller base raise does not meet the union’s request. "We are not asking to get ahead. We are asking to not fall behind," she said.
Board members listened and thanked speakers; no board vote on salaries occurred at the meeting. Several members asked administration for more budget detail and expressed sympathy for staff concerns ahead of upcoming budget discussions and bargaining sessions.
