Pay Raises For Teachers

23 responses to “Pay Raises For Teachers”

1. Tammy Page | December 9, 2015 at 7:32 AM |

   Wow, it’s about time! Dekalb county teachers deserve that raise. They work extremely hard and this is a great incentive to respark their drive to do even more in the classroom.
   Eventually good things come to those who wait, even when you think it goes unnoticed .
2. H | December 10, 2015 at 9:46 AM |

   Too little, too late. After 16 years…left sadly. But now, so happy. I am amazed out how well eveyone is treated in my new school district.
   It is not just about the money
3. Dekalb teacher | December 10, 2015 at 10:38 AM |

   Stan,
   Am I correct in assuming that a teacher with 17 years experience will get the big raise but a teacher with 18 years experience will only get a 2% increase? Wouldn’t that mean that teachers with 18+ years experience could possibly end up making less than teachers with fewer years experience?
   If so, that’s a HUGE slap in the face for teachers who really have stuck with DeKalb for the majority of their careers.
   Please tell me I’m mistaken.
4. Stan Jester | December 10, 2015 at 11:02 AM |

   I will release the specifics as soon as I get them.
   Teachers with 7 to 17 years experience are currently being paid less than the metro average across the board. The teacher salary schedule for teachers in DeKalb with 7 to 17 years of experience is being adjusted so that those teachers will start making the metro average for their experience and level of education. Teachers with 18 years experience are already above the metro average and will get a 2% increase.
   So unless the metro average for teachers with 18 years experience is less than the metro average for teachers with 17 years experience, teachers with 18 years experience will still be making more.
5. dekalbteacher | December 12, 2015 at 12:54 PM |

   Hi, Stan.
   In August you posted information about the 65% funding law, including Mr. Bell’s explanation that we were not meeting this requirement. The superintendent’s rationale cites this 65% requirement.
   Did the superintendent recommend and the board approve this raise now because the state wasn’t going to approve the budget given to the state in September?
   Do you know if the reason people other than teachers are also getting a raise in January is because their jobs are funded by the state and ,therefore, help fulfill the 65% requirement?
6. dekalbteacher | December 12, 2015 at 3:35 PM |

   Stan,
   Thanks for the explanation of how metro district averages resulted in only a 2% raise for teachers with fewer than 7 years or more than 17 years. Can you answer or find out the answer to other questions about these raise differences?
   What is the rationale for differentiating principals’ salary increases according to school level but not differentiating teachers’ salary increases according to school level? High school principals will see a bigger pay increase than middle school or elementary school principals, but teachers of all level are treated the same.
   Why did the school district decide to give academic data coaches and instructional specialists the same raise it’s giving teachers with fewer than 7 years and more than 17 years? Do these instructional support employees offer tutorials, sit in conferences, and communicate with parents the way teachers do, and do they have to submit lessons, grade assignments, input grades the way teachers do? Are they evaluated real-time the way teachers are? Are they required to work as substitutes when there is no substitute for an absent teacher the way teachers have been required to for the last two years?
   Did the district also consider school populations? Some teachers work in buildings that have seen decreased populations, while other teachers work in buildings with increased populations. Wouldn’t a teacher’s workload increase as the school and class sizes grow? The difference among principals’ salaries would suggest some consideration was given to differing workloads.
   If the district looked to other metro districts for pay averages, did it also look to those school districts’ average class sizes and teachers’ workloads? Teachers with fewer than 7 years and more than 17 years may be now earning as much as teachers in other districts, but are Dekalb teachers working more?
7. September | December 13, 2015 at 9:32 AM |

   I’m happy to see the raises for teachers. Offering salaries that are competitive with other systems is a step in the right direction. I hope you will also take a good hard look at working conditions and employee morale. Money is very important, but treating teachers with dignity is also important. Reasonable work requirements, high quality leadership in our schools, and the resources needed to do the job will help retain good teachers.
8. Stan Jester | December 13, 2015 at 11:06 AM |

   DekalbTeacher
   Attrition: The GaDOE doesn’t approve school district budgets. The school district must follow state law (OCGA) and GaDOE Rules. The state BOE approves waivers to deviate from those laws and rules. Traditionally, the GaDOE always approves the waivers.
   The administration attributes the raises to battling attrition. Personally, I’ve spent the last 12 months trying to push the funding into the schoolhouse where every dollar has the greatest impact on student achievement.
   Teachers with 7 – 17 Years: I’ve requested the specifics for all the raises as well as the research that led them to those decisions. I’ll post those as soon as I get them.
   Differentiating Principal and Teacher Salaries: Teacher salaries are based on their certification and years of experience (as I’m sure you know) and are on the same schedule whether they teach at elementary or high schools. Principal salaries, however, are based on years of experience and type of school as described in DeKalb Principal Salary Schedules
   Tax On Teachers: Class size along with many of the other things you mentioned are what I would call a tax on teachers. Class size and conditions were not considered when determining salary increases. Salary schedules were the only thing taken into consideration.
   Question: How do you feel about Fulton plans $20,000 stipends to lure top teachers to bottom schools?
9. dekalbteacher | December 13, 2015 at 1:32 PM |

   Thanks, Stan.
   Did the State approve the waiver? Your August post with Mr. Bell’s answer suggested it wouldn’t. This salary increase request and approval are timed with budget approvals, not with next year’s contracts.
   Can we find out why principals’ types of schools result in differing salary schedules when teachers’ types of schools don’t? Is this state law or Dekalb practice?
   I understand the need to keep teachers. I can’t understand the need to retain so many instructional specialists or academic data coaches when these certified people could be teaching students, reducing class sizes, and giving students more individualized instruction. Did the Milestone results indicate that students perform better when there are instructional specialists and academic data coaches with students in larger classes than when they are in smaller classes with classroom teachers?
   Do you know how many instructional specialists and academic data coaches are getting raises? According to salary records, we paid 507 instructional specialists for the 2013-2014 school year. There is no academic data coach title in the salary record, and nothing I can find on the school district’s website about academic data coaches or instructional specialists.
10. Stan Jester | December 13, 2015 at 4:39 PM |

    I’m guessing the waiver was granted. The board would have been notified if that weren’t the case. It’s granted in arrears, so by the time the waiver is requested there’s not much anybody can do about it.
    Teachers are the only employees with a minimum salary schedule dictated by the state (as far as I know). Principals are considered administrators and as such aren’t subject to the same laws and rules as teachers (obviously). There are salary ranges for all the various administrators. Here is the Organization Review and Salary Range Audit from January 2012. An HR Audit contract was recently awarded to KPMG. The audit is scheduled to begin January 2016.
    Academic Coach is a title with the classification of a Teacher as seen here. The ROI of all these various positions is a good question that I plan on bringing up in the next budget cycle.
    I don’t have any more specifics about the salary increases than what I stated in this article.
    Question: How do you feel about Fulton plans $20,000 stipends to lure top teachers to bottom schools?
11. dekalbteacher | December 14, 2015 at 9:46 PM |

    I’m not sure. What is a top teacher?
    If I work with students who already possess good reading and thinking skills, then their performance on the standardized tests measuring me and them may have less to do with my “top” teaching and more to do with the students. Give me a different set of students who need more help learning how to learn, and I may no longer function as a “top” teacher.
    However, I do agree with Fulton’s approach to compensation and degrees. I wish someone would do an analysis of Dekalb’s “dr”-heavy administration. How much do all these advanced degree-holding educators/employees benefit students? I don’t see any curricular materials published by these administrators earning top dollar. I don’t see any of these experts offering professional development sessions. I don’t see any of these experts training new teachers.
    What, exactly, are we paying for?
    I’ve never understood why Dekalb doesn’t ask something of its employees, especially the ones working (on their degrees) over the summer.
12. Stan Jester | December 15, 2015 at 6:46 AM |

    The article goes into a little how Fulton defines a top teacher. If you’ll indulge me, would you say some teachers are more effective than others? How would you decide how effective 6,000 teachers are?
13. adekalbteacher | December 15, 2015 at 11:06 AM |

    There has been talk that the reason DeKalb is not giving veteran teachers who have over 17 years experience the large raise is because they are hoping we will leave and they can get rid of our *higher* salaries. It is unfortunate that a teacher who stuck with the county through the very lean and crooked years is not being afforded the same treatment as new teachers to the county. A teacher with 8 years experience, but new to Dekalb, will get the big raise, but those who stayed during the really bad times are not getting the higher raise. It seems to me, the dedication to the county should count for something. If anyone can shed some light on this, please do. I could use a boost to my morale right now.
14. Stan Jester | December 15, 2015 at 12:40 PM |

    ADeKalbTeacher,
    I haven’t heard anybody say that. The administration to date has framed this around attrition. Compared to the rest of the metro area, teachers with 7 – 17 years experience were underpaid and had the highest attrition rate. Personally, I would like to make it challenging for all DeKalb schoolhouse employees to go somewhere else for more money. Either way, we end up at the same place.
    The district found the salary for every step in the teacher salary schedules for all the metro area school districts, except APS. They averaged each step and compared them to the steps in DeKalb’s teacher salary schedule. Schoolhouse employees with 7-17 years experience were below average and sometimes way below average. Those employees will see an increase between $2K and $14K to get them up to average for the metro area. All the other schoolhouse employees are already above average for the metro area and will see an increase of 2%.
    The district hasn’t released the specifics of the research or the 7 – 17 years experience raises. I’ll get that out as soon as I can.
15. Vincent | December 21, 2015 at 6:36 PM |

    Stan,
    You seem stuck on a “war against public school teachers”. Examine your conscience for a minute. Do you know what makes a “bottom” school “bottom”?
    Are you really unable to detect that a 4th grade teacher in Dunwoody and a 4th grade teacher in Lithonia have different burdens, different support, and different thresholds? I wish you and your colleagues on the board would just stop playing silly games!
    You should know by now that a competent teacher–no metrics needed– would achieve much different results using the same amount of effort and skills at Lithonia and Dunwoody. Except that the Lithonia 4th grade teacher would be putting much more time and effort to get her students to a 2nd or 3rd grade level while the Dunwoody 4th grade teacher is working with student who entered 1st grade already reading at the 3rd grade level.
    Because of that difference, and other differences, the Lithonia teacher should be given extra-pay to stay and continue to work hard at Lithonia instead of requesting a transfer to Dunwoody. If you can’t understand that, you should find another line of work. And so, in the end, any competent Fulton County teacher who simply “volunteers” to teach in “bottom” schools will be deemed a “top teacher”! Any competent teacher teaching under difficult conditions are worth the extra money in the same way sailors on submarines earn more money surface ship sailors.
    Something to think about, Mark Richt, Georgia coach, in a way was deemed not “effective” with 9-3 record but Trent Miles, at Georgia State with 6-6 regular season record is praised for his great accomplishments.
16. Stan Jester | December 22, 2015 at 9:13 AM |

    Vincent,
    “war against public school teachers” – Please explain. I said, “I would like to make it challenging for all DeKalb schoolhouse employees to go somewhere else for more money.”
    what makes a “bottom” school “bottom”? – There are various metrics people use to rate a school. US News & World Report ranks Cross Keys HS #57 in the state and #2096 in the country. I ranked Milestones Results – All Georgia High Schools by Proficiency and Cross Keys HS came in #259. I believe the best rating system is, do the parents in the community want to send their children to that school.
    Teachers at Lithonia and teachers at Dunwoody – We should have reasonable goals and expectations for each student at each school whether you’re in Lithonia or Dunwoody. They obviously have different needs and require different resources. Nevertheless, the school district is charged with providing the teachers, principals and resources to advance the football for every student (to borrow from your example).
    The Lithonia teacher should be given extra-pay to stay – I printed out the article that gives Fulton teachers a stipend to teach at schools where they traditionally leave the first chance they get. I handed that article to Dr. Green and I let him know that was a tool in his tool belt.
    Question: Would you say some teachers are more effective than others? How would you decide how effective 6,000 teachers are?
17. Kait | December 28, 2015 at 11:17 AM |

    Everyone this is not a raise but a means to get back what you gave up. Remember when Dekalb took 6.9 percent from you salary. You are just getting back what you gave up earlier.
18. Still Waters | December 28, 2015 at 1:31 PM |

    You should consider yourself slapped, as many of us have been. The disparity in pay increases is being done under the guise of attrition. Listen to this statement from the CFO. http://www.wsbtv.com/videos/news/teachers-in-dekalb-county-could-get-a-raise/vDfNYm/ Did you hear, to keep our best teachers?
19. Still Waters | December 28, 2015 at 3:19 PM |

    According to the information provide from DCS , teachers would receive 2% or !0 % raises. There was no information provided on a sliding scale of increase due to comparative salaries in other counties. Therefore, according to the DeKalb salary scheduler a teacher with a Master’s Degree and 17 years experience would get a 10% raise. A teacher with a Master’s Degree and 18 years experience would receive a 2% raise. If, this is how the increases are being calculated, a teacher with 17 years experience would in fact make more than one with 18 years experience. (2,830.00 more yearly) I hope that I am wrong. I would appreciate clarification.
    * DeKalb Teacher Salary Schedule
    * Fulton Teacher Salary Schedule
    * Gwinnett Teacher Salary Schedule
    * Cobb Teacher Salary Schedule
    * Clayton Teacher Salary Schedule
    * Henry Teacher Salary Schedule
20. Stan Jester | December 28, 2015 at 3:42 PM |

    Teachers with 7 to 17 years experience are currently being paid less than the metro average across the board. The teacher salary schedule for teachers in DeKalb with 7 to 17 years of experience is being adjusted so that those teachers will start making the metro average for their experience and level of education. Teachers with 18 years experience are already above the metro average and will get a 2% increase.
    So unless the metro average for teachers with 18 years experience is less than the metro average for teachers with 17 years experience, teachers with 18 years experience will still be making more.
21. Weary Worker | January 10, 2016 at 9:42 AM |

    Could giving the smallest raises to more older more experienced teachers result in a class action lawsuit citing age discrimination?
22. Adekalbteacher | January 10, 2016 at 7:31 PM |

    KAIT-true, the increase is to make ip for the loss of pay (as you stated 6.9%). However, all teachers who were in the county took the hit. Why then, is only a specific range receiving the higher %? Not to mention all the other county employees who aren’t getting anything. Plus, a new teacher to the county will see the big increase, but those who have suffered through it all, if over 17 years, get the 2%. Slap in the face is putting it nicely.
    This is simply a continuation of the status quo in Dekalb. They are trying to piss off and squeeze out the veteran teachers to rehire someone new to the field at a much lower salary. This is typically something you see in corporate America. Now, it is done in education as well. They are covering themselves from a class action ageism lawsuit by giving the under 7 years the same % as the ‘older’ teachers. Smart on their part, but shitty nonetheless.
23. Stan Jester | January 10, 2016 at 8:21 PM |

    A detailed metro analysis and results of the new school based employee comp plan will be posted on FactChecker tomorrow morning. You’ll see that the teachers with 7-17 years experience were behind the metro average, so that’s why they are getting a higher % raise. New teachers were making over the metro average and will see a 2% raise. Teachers with over 17 years experience were making over the metro average and will get a 2% raise on top of that as well.
    When the post comes out tomorrow, let’s discuss the specifics. –Stan