GENTRY — School board members unanimously approved giving a 3 percent raise to the school’s classified employees and adding a step 20 to the salary scale but balked on an initial recommendation to give certified staff a $500 per year raise for next year.
After an hour of discussion, school board members approved a revised recommendation of Gentry School District superintendent Randy Barrett to refer to the district’s personnel policy committee for a teacher vote an option of choosing a $1,000 across the-board bonus for all teachers in September or a $500 per year salary increase for all steps.
Though Barrett had initially recommended the $500 salary increase, board member Ted Dorn voiced concern that the salary increase would obligate the district for years to come,where a $1,000 bonus would give the teachers more now but not put the district in a bind should incoming revenue from property taxes fall off in upcoming years.
“I’d like to see our (2011) test scores first and give our teachers a $1,000 bonus after we see the test scores,” Dorn said, pointing out that the district gave its staff a $1,000 bonus in December. “I want to give our teachers more but don’t want to raise salaries to the point where we can’t sustain them if taxes decline in three to four years.”
Dorn also said he wanted to see the district spend the money in the current fiscal year rather than waiting for next year because he didn’t want the closing balance to be too high this year and than have a declining balance over the next years and risk being declared by the Arkansas Board of Education “in fiscal distress.”
Board member David Williamson inquired about a shift to merit pay for teachers rather than an across-the-board raise, adding that “we have several teachers who deserve a raise because they give 100 percent but some who do not.”
“I want to see the test scores because we have some principals say the snow days won’t affect our test scores,” Williamson said. “I’d like to see that.”
Barrett said he suggested the $500 per year raise because it helps build up the salary schedule to bring the district a step closer to other area districts which pay considerably more than the Gentry District.
When staff members present were polled, federal curriculum coordinator Judy Winslet said the pay raise would have an advantage in that it would be factored in to determine retirement pay, where a bonus would not.
The matter was finally resolved when Dorn suggested letting the PPC put it before the teachers and then pass their choice on two votes in the next meeting with an emergency declared and Barrett revised his recommendation to put the choice to the PPC for a teacher vote and have that decision be the adopted policy of the board. Though there was discussion of paying the bonus in this fiscal year which ends June 30, Barrett said he would rather reward those teachers who are returning to work in the Gentry District next year.
The recommendation to approve either a $500 per year increase to the teacher salary schedule or a one-time $1,000 bonus in September was passed unanimously with an emergency declared so that the decision can be used in teacher contracts offered next month.
The salary increase for certified staff (which does not include the superintendent’s salary, set by the board) would cost the district an additional $160,000 per year. The cost for the increase for classified staff will cost approximately $100,000 per year.
News, Pages 1 on 05/11/2011