There has, no doubt, been a lack of communication from the administration on how the new teacher salary schedules will work. The minimal communication in tandem with misleading charts and a complicated system to begin with has lead us to where we are now.
I think we made a difference here. Thank you DeKalb Employees for hanging in there! Get Schooled – DeKalb school chief: Teacher raise calculations flawed. We’re starting over.
“We need to recalculate the step process for everybody,” said Green. “We need to go in and correct the whole thing. We found some flaws in the algorithm. There is going to be a revaluation with an aim to put in steps that recognize their experience.”
Green said the district will hire an outside firm to conduct the analysis. And he concurred with what critics have long said about human resources in DeKalb Schools. The department could use major change.
Years of Experience Calculations
Dekalb Schools and all public school districts evaluate teaching experience in accordance with the Georgia Department of Education Experience Rule 160-5-2-.05. Where that places you on the Teacher Salary Schedule seems to be one of the big questions.
Teacher Salary Schedules
DeKalb County Schools
Gwinnett County Schools
Cobb County Schools
Clayton County Schools
Fulton County Schools
Atlanta Public Schools
DeKalb, Gwinnett, Clayton, Fulton and Cobb salary schedules seem to support having the same salary for the first few years. However, Cobb says “If an employee has satisfactorily completed 1, 2 or 3 years of verified experience in the State of Georgia, the employee will be placed on step 4.” APS salary schedule indicates that teacher salaries step up significantly every year from the get go.
How Did We Get From This To That?
I have submitted a number of questions regarding the new salary schedules. Hopefully the answer to this particular question will shed a light on many of our issues.
CC: Dr. Michael Erwin
From: Stan Jester
Dr. Gregory,
Can you explain how we got from the comparison salary schedule the board approved to the new posted salary schedule? I have included an image to demonstrate what I see as a discrepancy between what the board passed and what is posted.
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Response From Dr. Gregory
From: Bernice Gregory, Chief HCM Officer
Question – Can you explain how we got from the comparison salary schedule the board approved to the new posted salary schedule?
Can you please tell me where the teacher schedule you have listed is posted, as I have not seen that scale nor approved it to be posted? We used the board approved scale, only, to place teachers on the step structure.
Question – Did we give teachers the new salary schedules and tell them what step they are on?
Teachers were told what step they were on in the pay plan they received. A copy of the board approved teacher pay plan should have been sent with the pay plan.
Question – Did each teacher get an individual pay plan?
Yes, pay plans started being emailed to employees yesterday.
Question – Have the new salary schedules been posted online?
They will be posted on our website, under the compensation tab.
Question – Do we have any documentation on how to calculate what step a teacher is on? I would like to know how to accurately and consistently determine what step any given teacher is on.
Teachers were placed on the current step structure according to the pay and experience they were already receiving for the years they currently are being compensated. For instance, a teacher with a Masters degree and 9 years of experience was previously paid 51,939.02. The new pay would now be $56,787, as we placed them on the scale at the next level, near their salary. The pay increase is 4,847.98, which aligns with the 1.3 percent increase, for step placement. The total raise that the teachers received this year was the 2.5 percent COLA and the 1.3 step increase, which was a total of 3.8 percent for the year. The teachers didn’t loose any experience or years of service with the current method of placing them on the scale. We followed the state salary guidelines to place them on the current scale. Next year, they would move up to the next step on the scale.
Most of the teachers thought that they would be paid for the 9 years that they didn’t get a step, but that would be impossible to do with the budget that we had.
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Message from Deborah Jones, president of the Organization of DeKalb Educators
I have received many calls, emails, and text messages about the raise/step increase purported to be a part of this pay period. I’ve spoken with Dr Green, Dr Gregory, and Dr Erwin. The explanations given to me from the district leave me disappointed. I, too, was under the impression that employees would be paid step for step and year for year. Dr Green and Dr Gregory said, “that wasn’t ever the case.”
While conversing with Board Chair, Dr. Michael Irwin, he asked that the employees give the district until February 15, 2019 to work out the logistics of this plan. I understand we’ve waited since January 15th, however; we have to work within the parameters that we have. I would suggest we give Dr Erwin this time to work with the district to work this out. At the same time, I would urge all employees to notify the BOE members with your concerns. Any changes or clarification will require a majority of BOE members. The Board has an obligation to make sure the district moves in the direction they approved, as they were the ones to who approved the step increases initially.
We will continue to work with the district to make this right.
Deborah Jones, president of the Organization of DeKalb Educators
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Documents Passed By DeKalb Schools Board in January 2019
FY 2019 Teacher Salary Comparisons
Salary Schedule All Staff
FY 2019 Counselor Salary Comparisons
Related Posts
Compensation & Classification Salary Adjustments
January 15, 2019 – From the Sharepoint Portal (Word for Word): DeKalb County School District (DCSD) has completed its most recent Compensation & Class Study, mandated by Board of Education Policy GCA.
Update On Phase 2 Salary Steps for All Staff
January 10, 2019 – 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. There are a few hurdles, however, with implementing said raises in a timely fashion.
2019 Salary Schedules And Comparison
December 29, 2018 – DeKalb Schools will implement a new salary schedule starting January 1. It will be discussed and voted on by the board on January 7th in time for January 15th checks. Here are the new teacher and counselor salary schedules and how they compare to the other Metro Atlanta school districts.
New Step Structures for DeKalb Teachers
December 24, 2018 – In June, DeKalb Schools board approved the plan for DeKalb teachers to get a 2.5% raise and start stepping. The administration has neglected to communicate with the teachers the Phase II raise they are supposed to receive in January. There are a number of open questions. Here is what we know.
“Extremism in defense of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue.”