Spreading It Thin

Question of the week: What responsibility do administrators have to protect the interests of the people they supervise? This week that was a really relevant question. Jefferson County Department of Education received $2.5 million dollars in funds to equal out salaries for educators in Jefferson County. For some time, the County has struggled to keep up with the statewide trend in teacher’s salaries and it has begun to impact students. Good teachers, strong educators that have much to bring to the table, are jumping ship. They are going to systems that offer better pay or leaving education entirely. Let there be no mistake, it costs money to be a teacher. Just like most people, I am concerned that all people who work for the County, in their various capacities, have a livable wage. There is much talk about classified employees(secretaries, custodians, teacher’s aids, bus drivers, ect) and their wages and rightly so. Some, not all, Department of Education classified employees are barely making it financially. Some have a decent salary and the benefits are good.

Rarely do I hear advocates for educators-teachers. Not in the private sector, not in lobbying groups because the state effectively put the death blow to any real negotiations for teachers, and not, sadly, in administration. Teachers are required, and rightly so, to have a college degree, which costs money. Should they desire a raise of any substance, they must put in another one to two years of college to gain an advanced degree, which costs time and money. In the meantime, they must participate in continuing education, which does nothing to increase their pay and they must test to show proficiency in subject matter that they might desire to teach. Ironically, they must test to teach so they can then teach to a test, which is, also ironically, a condition of continued employment. I wouldn’t do it. I come from a family of educators and I didn’t do it.

This time there was money in the budget to begin to even the salary playing field. $2.5 million dollars could have gone to address the teacher pay issue but it didn’t. Oh, the teachers got a 2.2% raise, as did the classified employees. And, some money went to step raises and differentiated pay. It also went to pay for positions that are administrative or auxiliary and were previously covered by grants. Combined, about $1.3 million of $2.5 million went to certified salary increase and administrators, who have the largest salaries, also got a bite of that apple.

Where did the rest go? Around $450,000 went to other salary items like picking up the tab for positions that were previously covered by grants or classified raises and longevity pay. The rest of the money, around three quarters of a million dollars, was spread out across other categories. Technology looks to get a $122,000 increase but it was Maintenance/Operations that got the lion’s share of the remaining money with a $409,000 budget increase. The rest was eaten up with medical insurance and workman comp increases. All in all, salary increase for teachers added up to just a little north of half of the extra state money that was supposed to address inequities. Perhaps the most puzzling part of the proposed DOE budget is that was the creation of Central Office Administrators, the very people that should be the largest, loudest lobbyist for Jefferson County teachers. To twist the knife a little, when they were asked to make cuts to come up with $253,000 one of the places that the Department Heads identified to cut was raises. Perhaps they have forgotten what it was like to draw a teacher’s salary in Jefferson County. I know this, with support like that it is no wonder that we are losing really good teachers like a seven year old loses teeth.

Look, I know that benefits are good for County employees. But, the County Commission decided that great health insurance won’t buy milk or put gas in the car and gave County employees a 5% raise. Yet, Central Office Department Heads got a real opportunity to do something good for teachers in Jefferson County and they, instead,opted to halfway do something good for teachers in Jefferson County. And, when pushed to find money for a cut, they immediately went for raises. Nice.

So, on Tuesday they will take another pass at the budget and see if it flies. The School Board gave specific instructions to leave raises, textbooks and buses alone. It should be interesting to see if they heard what they were being told.

I have said it before and I will say it again. Teaching is a calling, much like nursing or the ministry. The teacher that greets your child, your grandchild, your neighborhood children, your church children, our community children, the teacher that spends the better part of the day with those we love comforting them and helping them grow intellectually and emotionally, is worth more than we can ever pay. But, since we do have $2.5 million dollars in free funds, it seems like that might be a good place to start. Perhaps it is time for the tax payers of Jefferson County to make our voices heard. It should not be difficult to be heard above the teacher’s current “lobbyist” whose actions speak louder than their words.