On Monday, the DeKalb Schools Board approved the Salary Steps for All Staff – Phase 2-2a. Most employees will get a competitive raise and everybody will start stepping again.
Even though the school district has been working on this since the June 26 board meeting, it looks like accounting will not be ready to fully implement the raises for the Jan 15 paychecks.
About half the employees will see raises next week. The other half will see their raise at the end of the month and will be back dated back to Jan 1.
The formatting of the documents has changed and they added more job titles. I noticed psychologists still aren’t in there. The administration will need to bring any missing job titles to the board before they can get a raise.
Supporting Documents
FY 2019 Teacher Salary Comparisons
Salary Schedule All Staff
FY 2019 Counselor Salary Comparisons
This update was sent Wednesday night.
From: Michael Bell, Chief Financial Officer & Bernice Gregory, Chief HCM Officer
This correspondence serves as notification of the implementation of the board approved January 2019 pay increase and the New Salary Step Structures.
Phase 2a- 2.5% raise across the board for groups listed in Phase 2a. Effective on the January 15, 2019 payroll
The 2.5 percent pay increase approved by the DeKalb County Board of Education for implementation in January 2019 for non-school based employees, will take effect on the January 15th paycheck, and be retroactively applied back to January 1, 2019. This pay increase (2.5%) applies to Chiefs, Deputy Superintendent, Regional Superintendents, Associate Superintendent, Executive Directors, Directors, Principals, Assistant Principals and all other District Office Staff – not school -based.
Phase 2- To be implemented on the January 31, 2019 payroll-Salary Step Structures
Procedurally, it has been determined that the Salary Step Structures for both classified and certified employees will be implemented on the January 31st paycheck and also applied retroactively back to January 1, 2019. The Salary Step Structures are for all certificated staff to include: Teachers, Counselors, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Speech Therapists, Social Workers, and Library Specialists as well as all Classified Staff to include: Bus Drivers, Custodians, Food Service Workers, Nurses, Bus Monitors, Paraprofessionals/Teacher Aides, Bookkeepers in the school, Campus Supervisors, Secretaries in the school, Clerks in the school, Interpreters in the school, Information Technology Technicians in the school, Registrars, Receptionists in the school, Liaisons in the school, Administrative Assistants in the school, School Healthcare Workers as well as the Classified Staff in the District Office – not school-based.
This adjustment in procedure allows for additional time relative to data validation.
Dr. Bernice Gregory and Dr. Michael Bell
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”
Taxes will eat it up, it should have been more
If it is what you say it is, then I like it.
I really thought the plan recommended would be implemented. Honestly this doesn’t compensate me for sticking with Dekalb and going over half a decade without one raise. Happy to see the comparison chart so that I can plan . This plan looks pretty good for teachers with bachelors and experience. Congrats to them!
Hello Stan
Thank you for your service to the school district. Thank you for this post. I’d like to know specifically how it effects my pay plan? The usual procedure is that we receive an individual pay plan from HCM. Will we be receiving a new pay plan? When will these come out?
Hi Stan
I didn’t see PT, OT, SLP listed on the new pay structures just posted? What pay structure are they included in now?
Thank you!
Stan,
If I understand this memo correctly, certified administrators in the building will not be included on the step increase for the January 31st check. If that is correct the teachers will be making more money then the AP’s and the Principal’s salaries will be so close to the counselor’s salary. Please explain the reasoning for this decision?
Thank you for the information! Do you know the difference in the Actual Experience and the State Experience? I understand the first three years are on one step, but the higher steps do not align.
Thanks again!
Stan, Will this have any effect on coaching stipends?
What is disheartening is that they did not follow the draft published in June. Those teachers who were not included past the 25 years experience level complained, and rightly so, but the adjustment made took the big increase away from the teachers in the 25 year range and stretched it to 30 years. This does not do anything for the teachers at the top, and is a detriment to those just below them on the scale. They did not add steps for those teachers with more than 25 years, they just stretched them out. Teachers at the end of their career will still not see an increase in the last few years. Be careful what you ask for!
I hope they don’t adjust the steps downward as we get cost of living increases in the future, or we will be right back in the same situation all over again when Atkinson started playing with the salaries. I am not really complaining, as I will see an increase and I am relieved about that. It’s just not making up for the years lost since they started playing with the steps.
Stan, please watch out for the “boots on the ground” personnel and make sure that they do not play with the steps every year in the future for teachers and staff that work with children, when we see an across the board increase. Thanks for all that you do.
Seconded regarding Speech Therapist, Occupational Therapist and Physical Therapist. They were specifically noted verbally in the meeting and are specifically noted in the follow up update above, yet they don’t appear anywhere on the salary schedule – all staff. Dr. Gregory noted during the meeting that they would be grouped together in the “Counselor” group (which has it’s own Salary Comparison chart), but none of them seem to be included in the salary schedule specifically noted by Class Title.
Thanks,
Salary Comparison – Both T4 and T5 salary schedules are really good for the first 15 years. T5 pays the most for the most experienced teachers. The salaries are front loaded for T4 … valid criticism for experienced T4 teachers.
Experience Calculation – I’ve asked HCM to provide documentation on how to calculate “Actual Experience”. I don’t know what State Experience or State Step are on the chart.
PT, OT, SLP – I’m not sure what the plan is for them or psychologists.
Coaching Stipends – A number of board members would like to increase coaching stipends … it comes up from time to time. DeKalb Schools is behind the times on this one. Unfortunately, this action doesn’t affect coaching stipends.
Stan Jester,
Thank you for all the information! Will the new raise be applied to the end of the contract (8/31/19) or spread out to the end of the year (12/31/19)? I don’t know accounting that well, but I don’t know how it can be applied to next year’s contracts when we haven’t signed those yet. Just curious! Thank you again fro all the information!
Do we know if teachers will be paid by actual experience steps or state experience steps?
Stan, this really needs your attention. I am looking at the salary schedule that was on the website at the beginning of the year. You can still find it in PDF if you Google DeKalb Teachers salary schedule 2018-19, even though it is not currently on the website. The years of experience and the steps did not coincide. With 0 years of experience and you are on step 1. The new schedule shows only the years of experience and not the steps for DeKalb. So, now , if they are adding a step 0, everyone is rolled back another step! This is the same sort of thing that has been going on for years in DeKalb! Make the comparison. With the salary schedule that is posted, everyone rolls back a step to start!
The increase is looking smaller and smaller.
I imagine first year teachers start on the first row and step up to a new row every year.
Stan,
There were budget recommendations made about extracurricular stipends a few years back by the athletic department including documentation to show how badly Dekalb lags behind other districts in stipends.
Did the board ever receive/review that information? I was under the impression that the athletics staff was told to drop the issue before the board ever got the information. I’ve got the documents stored on a computer somewhere and I’d be happy find them and send them to you.
I haven’t seen the extracurricular docs. Please send to stanjester@gmail.com
Sent… Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing this information with us. I know that this takes a lot of time on your part. Please forgive me for asking this question. Perhaps I should understand it but I don’t. I am not asking these questions to complain but in an attempt to understand.
In the compensation study, one of our administrators shared that it would increase his annual salary by about 9,000 dollars. But the 2.5 he is getting does not increase it by that amount.
Are the amounts listed on the compensation study going to be followed? If so, how and when?
My other concern is based on the study the pay for custodians, para educators, bus drivers, bus monitors etc, still seem to be low. These people do such a vital job.
Was there any recommendation to try to provide a larger raise for these individuals?
The district seems so “top heavy’ in the highest county level administration jobs.
Again, thank you and Nancy for all of your hard work. It is appreciated.
Hello Joy. I’m glad you’re participating in our discussion.
The documents attached to this post are the docs that were passed by the board and dictates the raises employees will see. By the end of the month, all the paychecks will be adjusted.
Bus Driver Salary Survey – Here are the results we received from the MAG study for bus drivers. It looks like it was scanned 2 or 3 times. I’ve asked half a dozen times for the originals to no avail. Anyhoo … DCSD bus drivers work many more days than the other Metro Atlanta bus drivers and get paid more annually. Bus drivers have been asking for more and more hours over the years.
Procurement Report – Over half the school budget is spent on contractors. The school district recently looked into the ethics and integrity (or lack thereof) in the school district’s procurement process.
Procurement assessment (AJC, WSBTV) – Richard Belcher with WSBTV today informed us that he will be partnering with the AJC for a story involving an inquiry made on Monday, January 7 regarding a procurement assessment document being debated by the school board that was prepared by Nelson Mullins.
The story airs at 6:18 today on WSBTV.
The statements on behalf of the school district is as follows: “The report is a high-level legal assessment of procurement processes, not an investigation or audit. The Board ordered this legal assessment for the purpose of receiving legal advice to proactively review our processes as part of our commitment towards continuous improvement. Legal advice is confidential, and the Board as a whole must take action to waive that privilege. Nonetheless, please know that work is being done and the District is currently developing a specific action plan in response to the legal assessment recommendations. We are optimistic that improving our procurement processes will positively impact the organization. By our proactive actions, we affirm our commitment to safeguard the interests of all our DeKalb County stakeholders.”
Hello! I have 4 full years of experience (3 in Gwinnett and 1 in Dekalb) and am midway through year 5. Currently I am on the ‘first step’ of the salary schedule for Dekalb even with 4 years of completed experience. Upon this new salary schedule would I be placed on a step coinciding with my completed years of experience or rather just move up next year from Step 1 to Step 2 along with everyone else on Step 1 even those with less years of teaching experience. For example a teacher with 2 years and myself with 4 years are currently both at Step 1, would we both move to Step 2 even though I have twice as much experience? Sadly and truthfully, money is a major factor in employment decisions that must be made to best meet the needs of teachers and their families. Will it be released soon exactly how steps are determined?
@ Educator the scale for OT PT SLP etc is list on this blog look where it says New Structure for Dekalb teachers on the left side click the then click phase 2 it’s page 2.
Hey Stan, The the school psychologist were not the only ones left off the list. I did not see Instructional Support Specialists, Academic Coaches, or LTSE all these positions require leadership certification and/or Master Degree. Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.
Mr Jester
Dekalb BOE with holds report
https://www.ajc.com/news/local-education/dekalb-board-withholds-report-school-purchasing-members-clash/3NWpPyHjigckfsBpOeFBfJ/
I also copied some information from the Georgia School Board Association. Thank you for asking the tough questions. How money is being spent impacts every staff member, parent and student. We have the right to know this. How can it be confidential?
Since our taxes help fund our schools, we should have the right to know how that money is being spent. If the DCSD is doing things in a fair and honest way, there should be no problem in sharing this information. Not being transparent makes people feel that the school system has something to hide. If mistakes have been made, own the mistakes and correct them.
We are using a double standard. There have been principals and coaches removed from their jobs because they could not explain or justice how funds were being spent.
Why does our district administration get a pass on this?
https://lms.embr.mobi/eBoardsmanship/ebsdisplay.aspx?S=61236&C=10
Chapter 10 – School Funding and Budgeting
One of the most important tasks for a local board in the control and management of schools is adopting the budget. The budget authorizes the targeted expenditure of revenue available to the school district and serves as a vehicle to control spending. The budget clarifies the goals and priorities of the district. As elected officials, board members sometimes face harsh political consequences for budgetary decisions. Boards must balance the needs of the students, the desires of the community, and the revenue available. This chapter presents an overview of one of the most complex areas of school governance. Georgia School Boards Association offers in-depth training on school finance each year.
Public education in Georgia is funded from three primary sources: local ad valorem (property) taxes, state funds, and federal funds
Thank you Joy for sharing this article. Well said. Thank you Stan for your service. Shine that LIGHT Bright on how this school district is spending money. How the district spends our money needs to see the light of day.
Question that hasn’t been addressed by HCM… teacher contracts are paid from September-August. Wouldn’t they have to pay the new step retroactively through the whole school year (retro this back to Sept)? If not, they’re only paying 2/3 of the increase promised for this school year as 2018 was paid at previous step? This would only apply to contracted yearly employees that are paid an annual salary such as teachers….
From what it sounds like, a teacher with 1 year of experience and a teacher with 4 years of experience will STILL be paid the same despite this new pay plan. Is this accurate?
Oh my- the procurement issue sounds like a serious new topic. Kind of takes my mind off of the salary scale fiasco- at least a little bit. I hope it’s simply sloppy bookkeeping and not friends and family selling things to the system at high prices. Not that anyone would ever do that…
Concerned, assuming there are no issues with your years of experience being valid, then I would assume that with a T-4 you would make $50,876 for the remainder of this year. If T-5, you would make $54,747. Each row in the link above equals a year of service. The table shows what you would make with each additional year. Even though some counties like Cobb only have 20 steps over 30 years (no pay raises in 10 of the years), the table shows what you would make in each county based on your years of experience.
I’m not a bookkeeper in DCSD, so you will have to take my opinion for what it’s worth. 🙂
@support
I hope you are right!
Hey Stan just wondering, the first proposed scale had an MA+30 column, will that column be on the approved scale as well? And if so does that mean you can upgrade your certificate with 30 credit hours or does it just mean a specialist degree?
Based on the newly proposed salary schedule I am receiveing a pay cut. At 31 years (T5) with the fall 2.5% raise my salary is currently $80,232. With this newly published salary scale the maximum pay is $79,680. What the heck! So I get a $1,500 raise last Fall and now I get cut $550. A few years ago I got a $1,000 raise while many of my peers received between $6-10,000 or more. This is after years of no raises, pay cuts (furlough days), rising health care costs, and stripped of district retirement funds without the required 2 year notice.
Nobody will get a pay cut.
Thank you!!!
@Region 1 Teacher, steps are determined by the fiscal year, not the school year. Every Jan, you move up a step, not everybody September.
Hey Stan, will certified administrators (AP’s) in the building not be included on the step increase for the January 31st check. Please explain the reasoning for this decision? If not, when will the AP’s receive their step increases?
Assistant Principals have a new salary schedule.
Thank You!!! I am glad that funds are being appropriated to pay all of the well-deserved and dedicated employees.
Hey Stan, I do not see the salary schedule for 11 month (213 day) High School Head Counselors. Where is this information located? Thank you.
Hey there! Will Comps & Class follow with an updated schedule based on certification levels soon? Thanks!
So……I checked my January 15th pay (the credit union has it “pending” already) and I see a $10 increase, literally $10! I know that you said payroll was rolling out the increases and some will not see it until the end of the month, BUT since I see something is that it? I hope not! Also, how was it determined who would receive the increase with the 1/15 paycheck or the 1/31 paycheck. Thanks!
I’m not privy to the operational snafu that prevented the administration from getting this done for everyone by the 15th.
At least you are getting one!! Several years back, we hardly ever got one!!!
I believe that the $10 might have to do with changes in taxes. I don’t believe they’re going to push out the step pay until the next paycheck. You can always check this by looking at your pay stub that can be found on dekalb county webpay. Look at your base pay and see if it has changed.
Academic Coaches and Instructional Support Specialist should have a category. We are considered “teachers.” However, when the teachers received the bonuses last year, the Academic Coaches, Instructional Support Specialist, Counselors, and Psychologists were not apart of that group either. Where do we fall?
Communication from the administration about the new salaries is forthcoming this afternoon.
Thanks, @Maria, for the suggestion of looking at the pay stubs. My base pay did not go up, so as usual, we were told something that didn’t happen. How on earth do these folks still have jobs? Never in this county have I experienced something so unprofessional and so incompetent.
I can’t see my pay stub until tomorrow……but do plan to take a look, thanks! Stan, no word from the administration, still. We have been told several times that documents would be forthcoming, but nothing.
Stan
No information from administration about the new salaries. No new pay plans sent this afternoon.
Ok. I’ll see if I can dig up the communication and get that to you.
I’m a bit confused when looking at the new payscales as they DON’T clearly define salaries for Instructional Support Specialists and Academic Coaches. We have been told that we are classifed as teachers, but when it comes to bonuses we have yet to see them. Would it be possible to have our fine print classifications changed so we can to reap the benefits as teachers? Or can we have have a salary scale tailored to our job titles and educational specialties? You have to know this is very aggravating as we are seen as part of the Administrative staff in schools, but when it comes to our compensation we are classified as a teacher……CONFUSED
The lack of official communication and inability to meet their self-imposed deadlines on this has been frustrating and discouraging. As teachers, if we fail to meet deadlines like submitting our weekly lesson plans or posting grades on time, we can expect lower scores on our evaluations. Who holds these people accountable? What consequences will they face for repeatedly dropping the ball on this? First they said we would know by December 18th. Then there was supposed to be a DCSD Newsflash. Then we were supposed to see the change in our January 15th paychecks. Now we are being told it will be the NEXT paycheck. No communication went out today. How is this any way to run an organization??? It’s extremely disrespectful to treat employees like this.
Hey Impatiently, I agree that the county is making a mess of this salary thing, but why do you think you are worth as much as a teacher, let alone more? If you want to “reap the benefits” of teachers, then you ought to teach.
Hey Impatiently, I agree that the county is making a mess of this salary thing, but why do you think you are worth as much as a teacher, let alone more? If you want to “reap the benefits” of teachers, then you ought to teach.
There is an update posted on the Sharepoint Page under District Announcements, click on Comp&Class below is what is at the very end.
**As we proceed with the intricate process, we may encounter some technical difficulties, and therefore may need to delay the full roll-out for the sake of accuracy. Should this be the case, be assured that all compensation will be retroactive to January 1, 2019 regardless.
Stan, thank you so much for serving on the Board of Education for Dekalb County Schools. I don’t know you personally, but I respect you more than most people in this county. You seem to be really for the people with your honesty and transparent nature. If you ever run for governor or any other office, you have my vote. You need to teach everyone else how to be more transparent and honest because most people are just out for themselves. They claim to be here for kids, but they are just here for a big fat check in a big fat office telling people what to do and not showing true accountability. Who rates the people at the top that mess with our check? Why do teachers have to always be the ones to suffer for people not properly doing their job? I am blessed and happy, but I am also facing reality that we need to make sure that more people are put into high positions that truly have our best interest at heart like you. If it wasn’t for this blog, most of us would be in the dark because Dekalb County Schools is not as transparent as they claim to be.
I agree with Losing Hope and Shaklesoff. Human Capital deserves a 1 on TKES or LKES, a failure to comply, or needs to be placed on a PDP. This is what they do to teachers when they don’t make deadlines, especially the ones they don’t like. Sad, but most of the veteran teachers may exit this year. Which is what I think the district wants based on how they treat loyal teachers. Stay tune, to read more updates of new teacher in the news (meth user, teachers that push students, or better yet sleep with students). Their recruiting efforts will only get worse.
Thanks Stan Jester, for keeping us informed.
Impatiently Waiting,
Your situation highlights a problem in Dekalb. We have many “educators” who aren’t teachers but aren’t quite administrators. I believe that’s just one of the many problems the district is having in rolling out this pay increase.
For those of us teachers who view instructional support and academic data coach positions as cushy gigs with less work and responsibility, would you be willing to explain how you do the same amount of work as a classroom teachers?
This pay situation, while great for the theater of the absurd, should give all parents, board members, and legislators pause.
Do you really think your children’s education and taxpayer-funded resources are managed any better?
I’m pretty sure that Cobb and Gwinnett counties do not have to deal with such unprofessional work ethics. This type of behavior is ALL Dekalb and APS. Such a shame. The people in the palace making the real money can’t be bother with making sure effective communication goes out to the peasants. I guess they are saying we should be happy to get a extra few dollars. I guess we are on their time. No questions asked. I still think the ones in the trenches deserve better communication.
Is this something that can be elevated to AdvancEd? Do they investigate the handling of these matters, especially regarding how/why Human Capital changed the scale from the draft, and also not meeting their deadlines, lack of effective communication thus far?
AdvancEd’s sole purpose is to protect administrations. This is the board’s responsibility to hold the superintendent responsible for this one.
Hello
Stan thank you for your service to Dekalb County schools! I found the notice from HCM this am on the share point page.
Hello Grumpy Cat and dekalb teacher
Just to clarify and answer your question of being “….worth as much as a teacher, let alone more”. Instructional Support Specialists and Academic coach roles vary from each school that you visit, but in my current role of my school I oversee and carry out the entire RTI/SST/504 process with a student enrollment of 800+ students. I have also been assigned to oversee the G4 or Transitional student program as I am responsible for constructing all lessons, assessments, and documentation as requested by the district. Not to mention, conducting teacher observations, developing and carrying out weekly PDs, and last but not least, the desegregation of all data pertaining to students school-wide. But, in my “spare time” I model lessons for teachers and push in for remedial support throughout the school day when there are openings in my schedule.
So, I can honestly say that I am doing more than a classroom teacher as this is not a cushy gig by far.
IMPATIENTLYWAITING, isn’t what you are describing part of the problem? Why should the jobs vary from school to school? There should be a set of expectations, and if some coaches aren’t meeting them, then they shouldn’t have that job and be paid that salary. It sounds to me like you have been given extra duties by your administrators; things that other coaches don’t have to do. But I feel like the point Grumpy Cat and Dekalb Teacher were making is that why would you wish to be treated like a teacher salary wise when you don’t consider yourself a teacher job wise?
Anyone notice that in the Newsflash that was sent out, in the blue section to the right (FAQ) of the attached pdf, it still says that employees would receive notice in December of 2018? No one could be bothered to update this? I swear you can’t make this stuff up…
How are they going to distribute the increase? Are they going to calculate the difference of our fall salary and the new salary, and spread that difference over the next few paychecks? Are we going to receive an individual pay plan like we did in the fall so we know exactly what our gross pay will be?
Confused. Everybody starts accruing salary at the new rate starting Jan 1. If Finance and HCM managed to get your raise implemented by the Jan 15 check, then there is no calculation. Whenever they do implement your raise, you’ll get the raise plus any missed accrued salary from Jan 1.
@Just Wondering, I agree regarding the disparity of instructional coaches responsibilities at various schools. It IS a cushy position at my school. When teachers classes are overloaded due to teacher absences, and they “split” the students across the grade level, I inquired as to why the instructional coaches aren’t expected to cover classes in such instances, as to not further overload classes that are already at or around 30. I was told it wasn’t part of their job description. Based on what has been observed, the “job description” is very limited. So you have some coaches who are doing their lion’s share of work like IMPATIENTLYWAITING described, and you have others who sit in their office all day.
Impatiently waiting – I would love to connect with you on how your transition program is going. I’m in charge of ours at my school and would love to see how other schools are making it happen and documenting everything they’re saying we need to document.
I’m a teacher, so I’m not included in the Jan 15th compensation. Previously our salary was from August to July. So, how will starting a new salary in January be rolled out since our contract salary isn’t from January to December?
Confused. Your salary from Aug 2018 through Dec 2018 is the same and doesn’t change. Teachers start accruing in accordance with their new salary structure Jan 1 2019. That is to say, you got what you got last semester and the new salaries start Jan 1 2019.
Thank you for the valuable information. Can you explain the decision on not moving to a Masters+30 for educators that have two masters degrees in their given field. Or is this something that will be on the updated salary schedule?
Not sure about the Masters+30.
What months will we be receiving the 2019 salary? Will it now run from January- December, January-August? That’s what is confusing to me. I’ve been a teacher in different districts, and have never had a salary change mid contract year, so I’m just not sure how that will be calculated and for how many months. This is why the individual pay plans would be useful.
Confused. OK … I think I see where your confusion is. That salary schedule is annualized. If you work an entire school year under this new schedule, that’s how much you’ll earn. However, since you worked half the year under the old salary schedule, you won’t earn the entire amount in the schedule. 6 months of earnings will be at the old salary schedule rate and the 6 months will be at the new salary schedule rate.
Stan, do you know if they plan to send out individual pay plans? All I want to know is what step I am on. Thanks!
Understood, thank you!
At this point, I’m not sure what the communication plan is. There is confusion around exactly how to calculate years experience.
There appears to be a LACK of TRANSPARENCY when it comes to the increases with step salaries to many of the employees of the DCSD. This is amazing that this topic was originally presented back in June 2018 with a proposed budget to the cost to the district. If we are still figuring out teachers’ steps based on years experience, then the PROPOSED BUDGET IS NULL AND VOID. How can you complete a proposed budget without knowing staffs’ years of experience and the step impact? Communication to the employees is AWFUL! We know better, we can do better and staff deserve better.
Hi Impatiently, I’m sure you work hard at your job, but I don’t know why DeKalb needs more administrators in the schools. You’re a teacher, and should be paid as one. And don’t start claiming that you do more than a classroom teacher.
In the past when I received a pay increase (mid-year, it was paid out January to August. My salary was divided into a daily rate and applied for the remainder of the days for that contract.
My opinion will not be popular.
Full disclosure: I’m a teacher and I am happy to receive a pay increase. However, I didn’t become a teacher to be able to drive a BMW.
I hope everyone holds their grade levels or departments to the same level of accountability that they’re expecting regarding this raise. We will be notified about our specific pay increases, yelling with pitchforks is not going to make the emails come any faster. I have heard more passionate responses about teachers and their “checks than about student progress in the last month.
For those wanting “administrative pay,” it is essentially the same rate as teacher pay, for assistant principals. It all depends on the actual contract days you work. In addition, correct me if I’m wrong, assistant principals start at step 1 regardless of years of teaching experience. So if you’ve been teaching for 25 years, you’re not going to automatically just to step 25 as an AP. I think many would benefit from a statistics course to help understand these charts and graphs.
I understand that this isn’t a problem you created, but how was there a years long study and a vote to approve a plan that was obviously not in its final form? It seems that you were given something to vote on, but something different may be implemented. My assumption is that some HR person will decide whether people with 2-4 years of experience get paid appropriately for the rest of their careers or if they are kept with first year employees at year 1.
The administration came to us and said if we don’t approve this now, the employees won’t get their raises in January.
If the board doesn’t like the way it’s implemented, in theory, we can revisit this.
Hi Observer,
I also like teaching and I also don’t care about driving a bmw or cadillac escalade. I do care about students, my family, and myself. As my pay remained stagnant, Dekalb started hiring fewer substitutes. Now I work as a teacher and a substitute. My students suffer. As my pay remained stagnant, Dekalb looked to more professional learning experts who attend day-long and multi-day conferences. I get a “re-delivery” squeezed into one planning period, often announced only hours or a few days before. Apparently, my students don’t need me to plan. As my pay remained stagnant, Dekalb has allowed administrators to hire more administrative staff. Do you think we have guaranteed working photo copiers with paper? My students suffer. As my pay remained stagnant, Dekalb started creating more instructional support positions. Now I spend instructional time grading poorly written post-tests no one cares about. My students suffer.
I agree that heads of department, administrators, etc… should be held accountable. How does that happen? Principals evaluate assistant principals. Assistant principals evaluate heads of department. During Green’s tenure as superintendent, no school administrators have been evaluated by teachers. Good luck with accountability!
You’re wrong about assistant principal pay. You can look up any Dekalb employee’s paid salary for the previous year through Open Georgia. That’s what I did. Assistant principals with the same or fewer number of years teaching as I are making 20k to 25k more than I do. They only became assistant principals a few years ago. Dekalb doesn’t seem to distinguish years of experience as a teacher versus years of experience as an administrator. Look at the new pay scales for principals.
This post is strictly about pay. It is not about student achievement or gripes we have within our school. Check the title. Other concerns are addressed on this site, there are numerous to choose from.
We fight for students daily and just because we are dedicated to student achievement doesn’t mean we don’t have a voice about our livelihoods . I went years without 1 cent addeded to my pay and we have every right to voice frustration over this on a topic allotted to do so. From my 1st year teaching to my 12th I saw a $6,000 pay increase. That’s over a decade with not even a $ 1,000 pay increase a year. So yeah I am very concerned about teacher pay.
I’ve dedicated 18 years , it’s not about money, but we do deserve a pay that meets the demands of daily life. I expect info that weighs heavily on my financial well-being to be given to me in a timely manner , so that I can plan accordingly. Just as those at the top expect me to do what is asked in a timely manner. High expectations are needed from all involved.
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Assistant Principal Pay – Teachers are 190 day employees and Assistant Principals work all year around (246 days). I don’t believe a teacher on step 10 would go straight to step 10 as an Assistant Principal.
Not Surprised, I agree with you. Many of us don’t teach to drive luxury vehicles, but we do expect to earn a decent living, especially since we are required to at least have a bachelor’s degree. It makes no sense that we are college educated professionals who can’t manage to earn fair yearly raises, especially while the cost of living is steadily going up. I don’t know anyone (outside of the teaching profession) who works full time and doesn’t get a raise on an annual basis. We don’t even get a lunch break, which honestly, I feel shouldn’t even be legal. If there are meetings during our planning period (Which there often are), we get NO break for the entire workday. So we’re supposed to perform highly, pay for our own resources, not get any breaks during the day, and not get raises. That’s not even allowed at Walmart. But that’s an entirely different topic.
Stan,
First, I want to thank you for your time and energy dedicated to the school system including the employees and the students.
This is year 23 in Dekalb for me. I have experienced the ups and downs with our school system. Those of us who have stayed the course and dedicated our lives to the students of Dekalb do not teach for the money or the respect for that matter.
My concerns are about the “confusion over the years of experience” and the fact that the experienced teachers towards the middle of the scale (in the 20 year range) are seeing the lowest increases. The spreadsheet even goes as far as to show the rating compared with other counties. Who created and then approved the new scale? Why is it so confusing? That makes no sense.
Why are the teachers not benefiting from the years of experience? If the goal is to retain qualified teachers, why pay the teachers with more experience less? Teachers are retiring early or leaving for other school systems that show appreciation for their dedication to the profession. Paying new teachers with less experience is not the answer.
What saddens me the most other than the lack of communication , is how the vets are overlooked. We are the ones that toughed it out and hundreds us had to take on second jobs to make ends meet. We did all of this because of our love for Dekalb students. During many years of no “steps” or raises we still had to come out of our pockets to make sure our students had the supplies they needed to participate in the learning process (especially in our Title 1 schools ).
So this new pay scale dedicated for bragging rights of having the highest salaries for new teachers is a disgrace to all of us vets that have been carrying this county. I understand the need of wanting young, fresh ideas and wanting to get the new teachers in, but remember we are you department chairs, teacher support specialist, instructional coaches, mentors, etc. Experience is the best teacher. If those of us with 10 plus years leave the impact will be great.
T5 vets are not overlooked. T5 teachers with 28+ years experience are the highest paid T5 teachers in metro Atlanta … and probably the state. That’s a fair critique for the T4 schedule. The idea is to attract new teachers by front loading the salary schedule, thereby paying them more over the arc of their career.
I’m a T5 vet and for the next 5 years or so my salary is ranked at #3 and #4 in the comparison chart. I called that overlooked. Vets that have been with Dekalb for 13 years or more have felt the great impact of no steps. Wonderful for 28plus!
Assistant Principals do not work all year. They work 11 months.
So how do they get a 20-25% pay increase for one more month? They have been going straight to that step. I looked up assistant principal salaries at my school. These are the things no one gets. Everyone, even the board, seems to assume there is a process.
If there is, where can we find it?
T6 is ranked 3 and 4 from 11-26 years of experience, that is HIGHLY overlooked and nonsensical. Only those in the beginning years of experience and highest years of experience are earning competitive salaries, that’s leaving out a gross majority.
Personally, its hard for me to rationalize the benefits to taxpayers and students for paying at the highest level for T-6 and T-7. I just don’t see how a doctorate is going to make you a better teacher. Sure, if we were a wealthy county/city, then hey, no big deal. But we have a tremendous number of low income students and we need to produce results within a budget. This isn’t about funding someone’s educational hobby. You can earn a competitive salary as a T-6 and T-7 under this schedule and that is more than enough IMO.
And T-6 and T-7 is decidedly not the gross majority of our teachers.
Anonymous,
I didn’t say gross majority OF TEACHERS. I said gross majority regarding the majority of steps at the T-6 level. So, it doesn’t make financial sense for teachers with T-6 certification to stay in Dekalb after step 10. You may feel that having a higher degree isn’t beneficial, but clearly school districts don’t have the same view since all of them have pay scales that are based on educational level. I can say personally, that my specialist greatly strengthened my educational practices.
“Only those in the beginning years of experience and highest years of experience are earning competitive salaries, that’s leaving out a gross majority.”
I took “only those” to be teachers, not steps. I misunderstood your point.
If you define “competitive” as median or better, then DeKalb pays above the median in 26 of the 30 years. DeKalb pays .8% less than the median in year 19 which is its worst year compared to the median. DeKalb has the fewest years of any district with pay below the median.
Anonymous,
Maybe I’m not being clear enough. On the T-6 scale, Dekalb is only number 1 or 2 for compensation for years 1-10 and years 27-30. So, no Dekalb is not competitive for someone with T-6 certification who plans to teach for 30 years. I’m not speaking of median, I’m speaking of ranking. I’m done with this though, as I don’t want to continue the back and forth on this one topic.
Stan,
Any idea how the new governor’s proposed 3,000 dollar pay raise for all GA teachers will impact this newly alleged step increase with Dekalb? Do you think Dekalb will now lower the second phase adjustments to offset the state approved raise (if it makes the cut). I just don’t see them making necessary adjustments in budget to benefit teachers in this way.
Stan you are appreciated beyond words. If it wasn’t for your work , we would be completely in the dark about our income. THANK YOU!