Board president statement on fair pay and just compensation to employeesBoard president statement on fair pay and just compensation to employees

At the August 20 Board of Education meeting, Board president Annette Johnson outlined the commitment the Board has made to pay fair and just compensation to its employees. The goal of the Board is to fairly pay staff wages and benefits “that are comparable or superior to what they could earn in other districts.”

“In prior years,” Johnson said, “we addressed starting salaries to assure our ability to attract the best candidates.”

“This slide shows where our starting bachelor level teachers compare to West Aurora School District 129. As you can see, our bachelor-level starting salaries are far superior to West Aurora. Our current proposal does two things. It guarantees fair raises to every member of the staff and, in a single contract, closes significant gaps for teachers at or above the master’s level. This required very significant raises to many teachers.”

Some examples of various steps throughout the pay scale.

Step Example 1 shows a bachelor level at step 5 who earned $46,893 in the 2017-2018 school year would, this coming year, be paid $48,157, being a raise of 2.7%. Over the life of this contract that same teacher would receive a total raise of $3,304, or a 6.9% increase.

Step Example 4 shows a bachelor with 16 additional hours at step 10 who earned $51,300 this past year would receive an additional $5,986, or an 11.67% increase. Over the life of this contract that same teacher would receive a total of $10,167, or an 18.85% increase.

Step Example 10 shows a masters-level with 32 additional hours who earned $62,180 this past year would, for this year, be paid an additional $5,823, or a 9.36% increase. For year 2019-2020 that teacher would receive an increase of an additional $10,392, being a 15.28% increase. Over the life of the contract this teacher would receive total raises of $18,359, or a 27.37% increase.

“With regard to our support and office staff, our proposal provides compensation for classroom aides at a starting salary of $13.25 with a range of pay to $23.00 per hour. By comparison:

• Batavia has a range of $11.50 to $12.00 per hour,

• Indian Prairie has a range of $12.50 to $17.50 per hour,

• Oswego has a range of $13.79 to $14.21 per hour, and

• West Aurora has a range (with Associates degree) of $13.20 to $22.42 per hour.”

For secretaries, our proposal has a starting salary of $14.25 with a range to $24.00 per hour. By comparison:

• Batavia has a range of $11.50 to $16.00 per hour,
• Indian Prairie has a range of $14.75 to $21.33 per hour,
• Oswego has a range of $14.00 to $18.02 per hour, and
• West Aurora has a range of $13.76 to $24.00 per hour.

Our proposal provides a schedule for all support and office staff with increases each year over the life of the contract.

The Support/office salary schedule appears on the district website.

It is important to understand how the Support/office salary schedule works. In this schedule, each employee receives a guaranteed raise by entering the schedule at the compensation level above their current salary.

“For example, if you are a classroom aide being paid $17.00 per hour, you would immediately advance on the schedule at compensation level 10 at $17.50 per hour for the 2018-2019 school year. You would then advance a compensation level each year thereafter, so that in the 2019-2020 school year you would earn $18.00 per hour, and in the 2020-2021 school year, you would earn $18.50.”

“We believe it is fair to commit these kinds of raises to our employees, as it raises our teachers who were not as competitive before, to levels that meet or exceed our neighboring districts and it keeps our support and office staff at the top of the compensation scale. The Board and administration have worked long and hard to reach the goal of having the East Aurora teachers, support and office staff compensated at a level of our neighboring districts, including West Aurora, Batavia, Oswego and Indian Prairie. The Board has also guaranteed its commitment to these payments for all three years, despite the fact that a deficit has been projected for this year, and despite the risk that our future revenues may decrease due to enrollment declines or the failure of the state to appropriate funds. There is no contract reopener.”

Finally, be sure to see the district website for the Step Examples and a District Fact Sheet.