Teacher Raises – True or False?

Teachers across the state will make more this year than they did last year thanks largely to $600 million in additional state revenues that Gov. Deal sent to local districts.  Teacher’s Gross Annual Income, the total amount of money earned this fiscal year, is the number of paid days a teacher works times their daily rate.   Many teachers will be working more days this year and some school districts have budgeted a raise in their daily rates.
According to the AJC, all teachers in Gwinnett will get a 1.8% bump in their pay, called a “step increase,” that’s based on their experience.  Atlanta Public School (APS) employees will receive up to a 5% raise.  Cobb and Fulton will get 1% and 2.5% raises respectively.  DeKalb Schools announced a 1% raise for their teachers.  But, a careful examination of the salary schedule suggests that not all teachers will see an increase in their daily compensation.  In fact, some may see a decrease.
(Update note: DeKalb Schools teachers step increases are frozen.  They have been on the same step for the last 4 or 5 years.)
This chart compares DeKalb’s FY14 Teacher Salary Schedule and FY15 Teacher Salary Schedule. This is the daily rate for a teacher with a bachelor’s degree at varying years of experience.  It would appear that many teachers will see a decrease in their daily rate.

2013-2014 2014-2015 Delta % Change
Exp Daily Rate Exp Daily Rate
0‐6  Years $220.23  E 01 217.16 ($3.07) -1.41%
0‐6  Years $220.23 E 02 222.43 $2.20 0.99%
0‐6  Years $220.23 E 03 222.43 $2.20 0.99%
0‐6  Years $220.23 E 04 222.43 $2.20 0.99%
0‐6  Years $220.23 E 05 222.69 $2.46 1.10%
0‐6  Years $220.23 E 06 222.95 $2.72 1.22%
0‐6  Years $220.23 E 07 223.22 $2.99 1.34%
7Years  $220.23 E 08 223.48 $3.25 1.45%
8Years  $221.81 E 09 223.74 $1.93 0.86%
9Years  $223.71 E 10 225.6 $1.89 0.84%
10Years  $226.61 E 11 227.78 $1.17 0.51%
11Years  $233.43 E 12 230.98 ($2.45) -1.06%
12Years  $240.51 E 13 235.76 ($4.75) -2.01%
13Years  $247.77 E 14 242.91 ($4.86) -2.00%
14Years  $255.35 E 15 250.24 ($5.11) -2.04%
15Years  $263.12 E 16 257.9 ($5.22) -2.02%
16Years  $270.95 E 17 265.75 ($5.20) -1.96%
17Years  $279.23 E 18 273.65 ($5.58) -2.04%
18Years  $287.69 E 19 282.02 ($5.67) -2.01%
19Years  $296.40 E 20 290.56 ($5.84) -2.01%
20Years  $302.28 E 21 299.36 ($2.92) -0.98%
21Years  $302.28 E 22 305.3 $3.02 0.99%
22Years  $302.28 E 23 305.3 $3.02 0.99%
23Years  $308.15 E 24 305.3 ($2.85) -0.93%

 

One response to “Teacher Raises – True or False?

  1. Jim McMahan wrote to the superintendent asking for an explanation for this and the reply he got was… interesting.
    According to whomever wrote the reply, the 2013-14 Salary Schedule reflects the years of service completed. The 2014-15 Salary Schedule reflects the pay for the next year of service.
    If a teacher has worked for ten years and the current school year will be their eleventh year of service, their daily rate will be $230.98.
    (I may be wrong. The email was written so poorly it is difficult to understand.)
    Supposedly, all 10/11 month employees will sent an explanation of this before the end of August. Hopefully, someone who knows how to write will write the explanation for the employees.