Hike of .75 percent applies to last school year
By Jennifer Eisenbart
Staff Writer
The Burlington Area School District Board of Education on Monday night approved an agreement with the Burlington Education Association on salaries for teachers to be applied retroactively to the 2011-12 school year.
The settlement calls for a .75 percent increase across the board per cell. Cells are determined by a teacher’s length of time in the district and education level.
The board approved the change with just one “nay” vote, coming from Roger Koldeway, who later said he wanted to see the gap between the highest and lowest salaries narrowed.
“We still did not decrease that range,” he said. Koldeway also criticized the fact that, while the proposed cell increases came in below the budgeted $247,000 (at $190,000), the lane changes by teachers (determined by education) brought the total increase to more than $300,000.
BEA president Bill Berkholtz said the agreement was reached a few weeks ago, and he was pleased to see the settlement approved.
“Under the new law, under Act 10, we received what we believed was a fair settlement,” Berkholtz said. “Ultimately, we had agreement between the board and the association.”
Wages are essentially the only item that can be negotiated under Act 10.
One change the BEA had hoped to enact was setting up a committee that could look into health benefits and ways to save money on that front.
“The board really doesn’t have to do that,” Berkholtz said. “The law doesn’t allow us to bargain anything other than salary.”
He did say, however, that the group was told the district would still welcome input.
“Our input is different than bargaining, and they don’t have to listen to it,” Berkholtz said.
The changes in each cell – determined by years in district and amount of education – all got an approximate .75 percent bump. For example, teachers at the low end of the experience and education range will earn $35,408 a year – a $264 dollar a year increase (.751 percent).
Teachers who are maxed out on the steps and lanes chart – with a master’s degree plus 36 credits and at the high end of the experience level – will now earn $69,876, an increase of $520 or .749 percent.
However, teachers at that end of the scale cannot move any more “lanes or steps” – indicating they are maxed out on the pay scale.
It’s an interesting dilemma for BASD, as 95 of the 245 teachers fall into that masters plus 36 credits category. It is the reason why BASD’s average salary rates as high as it does amongst state reported averages.
The only thing negotiated in the settlement was the increase per cell, and will be paid retroactively. Teachers had already moved through the lanes (indicating the added education level) and had already begun receiving that compensation.
The district and teachers must now negotiate salary for the current school year.
-
-
-
-
-
Time for the tax payers to dig deeper. It’s unfortunate that my employer currently has a freeze on pay raises due to the recession. Speaking with friends and relatives, this seems to be the norm across all companies. It’s no wonder the US is so much financial trouble!
Good for the teachers! Although this won’t keep up with inflation, as CITIZEN and NOT a taxpayer, I’m happy to contribute my fair share.
If the ultra-wealthy in America weren’t taking so much for themselves and giving themselves huge pay raises and bonuses while wrecking the economy and taking bailouts from the citizenry, then average consumers would have more disposable income. In fact more money in the hands of working and middle class people is the ONLY THING that will fix our economy which is 70% driven by CONSUMER DEMAND!
“If the ultra-wealthy in America weren’t taking so much for themselves and giving themselves huge pay raises and bonuses while wrecking the economy and taking bailouts from the citizenry”
Hey like to know step by step how and who these people are taking from. How are people who pay the most taxes taking the money again? Hoe do they give themselves the pay raises again. Do they take the money out of our paycheck by force?
What’s the deal with all the bailouts actually making money for the US Treasury EXCEPT about 54 billion the GOVT lost by bailing out the UNION pension and healthcare funds of GM and Chrysler?
Just curious about these curious facts.
Take a deep breath and satisfy your consumer demand by buying a Ford hybrid – new ones coming out and selling well – or a foreign brand made in the US – the ones not on the real bailouts. Those “on fire” Chevy Volts seems to be losing taxpayers about 49k a car.
CrazyCranley strikes again. It is entertaining.
ANSWER: They use their oversized influence over our political system to rig the game in their favor. One name for it is supply-side economics, but voodoo or trickle-on economics is more accurate. It’s been a 30-year long failure.
But rather than ranting and name calling, I suggest you educate yourself and get some of your questions answered by starting here: http://www.democracynow.org/2004/5/18/the_covert_campaign_to_rig_our
EXCERPT: We speak with Pulitizer Prize-winning New York Times reporter David Cay Johnston about his new book Perfectly Legal. Johnston argues that most Americans are “being duped into supplementing the incomes and extravagant lifestyles of the rich and powerful.”
The income gap in the United States is greater than many imagine —- the top 29,000 Americans have as much income as the bottom 96 million. And in recent years tax burden for the richest Americans -—- especially corporations — has been falling sharply while everyone else’s has risen.
A study by the General Accounting Office found that almost two-thirds of America’s corporations paid no federal income taxes during the late 1990’s, when corporate profits were soaring. Nine out of 10 companies paid less than the equivalent of 5 percent of their total income.
A new book by Pulitizer Prize winning New York Times reporter David Cay Johnston argues that most Americans are “being duped into supplementing the incomes and extravagant lifestyles of the rich and powerful.”
The book is titled “Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign To Rig Our Tax System to Benefit The Super Rich — And Cheat Everybody Else.” Last month Johnston was awarded top honors at the 2003 Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards for the book.
Won’t Keep Up with Inflation? Probably Not
But, Werent the Salaries Way too High Before 2008? Gotten Way out of Control by then?
Lets go back the past 10 yrs and look at the Ave. Increases in both Salaries and Benefits 1st..
and oyu need a Teacher for grade and middle School to have a Masters Degree? Seems Over Qualified to me , let alone pay them for that, doesn’t it?
Be Like a janitor getting a Degree in Science and Gets a Raise for having that.
A HouseKeeper comes once a week , gets $35 for the time she does her Cleaning Work , now should be paid $50 because She Now has a HS Graduate .. Does It make her Do her Job Better? Is anymore Required of her to justify a 43% Raise? I don’t think so..
She’s now Over qualified , is she not? Time for her to move on and make room for another Less educated, but just as Qualified to do the job.. Otherwise, she still gets paid per What that Job requires and pays, nothing more..
Yes…. That is just what we need, less qualified teachers. Are you serious Retired???? Wow.
Advanced education for a janitor or a housekeeper is equivalent to advanced education for educators? What an absurd attempt at analogy.
In the private sector, improving one’s education to advance one’s prospects is laudable, yet apparently in the mind of some, this is something to be criticized in the public sector.
It looks to me as if the notion that teachers are overpaid is the product of poor excercised critical thinking and the application of double standards, and probably over-exposure to AM radio.
Mr. Cranley if deep down you seriously feel a kindergarten, 1st grade or similar needs a masters degree to effectively do their job then fine. Considering your posts that would make sense.
If I was get a masters degree I probably would change postions or jobs not stay in my existing job and get a large raise. Now lets hear some more non-sense. Do you ever get the feeling your opinions are not agreed on by most?
Having the majority of people think one way does not always make that thinking right.
Jill J,
I’m confident that reasonable arguements can be made for and against advanced degrees for educators under various circumstances. However, the notion that such reasoned arguments apply to advanced degrees for janitors and housekeepers is almost as absurd as the notion that you know what most people’s opinions are, unless of course you’ve taken a poll.
Hey maybe we can get some teachers on the cheap from the Loungerie League, since it’s worked out so well for the NFL!