Proposed raises would make Park County School District 1 among the highest paying in the state

Posted 5/3/22

If proposed salary increases are approved, Park County School District 1 will become one of the top 10 paying school districts in the state.

During the board’s April 12 discussion of the …

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Proposed raises would make Park County School District 1 among the highest paying in the state

Posted

If proposed salary increases are approved, Park County School District 1 will become one of the top 10 paying school districts in the state.

During the board’s April 12 discussion of the preliminary budget for the 2022-2023 school year, Superintendent Jay Curtis said that because the district has not passed a base salary increase for its employees since 2017, their salaries have rated between 22nd and 25th in the state.

“Our current base salary is $48,350. My recommendation is that we move the base salary to $51,000 for teachers — that represents a $2,400 increase,” Curtis said. “That actually bumped us up into the top 10 for salaries in the state.”

Business supervisor Mary Jo Lewis confirmed that the proposed increase in the base salaries of certified staff would put PCSD 1 in the top 10 highest paying districts in the state. Lewis noted that the increases have been carefully considered based on other salaries paid by the district.

Curtis and Lewis suggested substantial raises to the base salary of the district’s staff, including hourly employees, with the goal of recruiting and retaining employees.

Curtis said that in the five years he has served as superintendent, the school district has opted to pay performance stipends at the end of the year rather than increase the base salary.

“We’ve actually provided performance stipends to our employees at the end of the year in lieu of changes to the base salaries for one reason.  We’ve been under the threat of legislative cuts to our budget,” Curtis said. “And anytime you make changes to the base salaries, you are essentially obligating yourself to future expenditures.”

Curtis said that within the last decade there has been a constant rumor of up to a $100 million cut to education funding. This prompted PCSD 1to prepare for cuts that never came.

“None of that (legislative cuts) occurred, which created not just the room that we already had in the budget for increases to our base salaries but added another million dollars to that,” he said. 

Under the proposed increases, teachers and those in special positions would see a roughly 5.5% percent increase to their base salary. Hourly employees would receive a $2.90 increase to their current hourly rate, bringing the lowest paid hourly employee to $15 an hour. 

Administrators would earn a 5% increase to their base salaries, which would be the lowest percentage increase in the district. 

Maintenance employees who have to serve on-call hours would receive an additional $100 for the weeks they are on call, and any emergency that extends over $100 of their hourly pay will revert to additional hourly pay. 

A one-time stabilization payment is also proposed, which is designed to help provide cost of living increases for staff on top of the base salary raise. This is only being discussed and will be voted on during the May meeting.

In addition to the base salary raises, changes were also proposed to the steps and lanes system.  

A step is a new level of pay to a certified staff member who has worked in the district for one year and received a positive evaluation, while a lane is awarded to teachers who earn additional education.  Currently, certified staff have “topped out” on the scale, meaning they have no more steps to bump their pay. 

With the proposal, both the steps and base salary would see an increase. 

Additionally, administrators previously were only eligible for steps every two years. Under the proposed changes, administrators would receive a step proportionate to that received by teachers.

The rest of the preliminary budget is based on the Wyoming Department of Education model specifically for budgeting. 

The actual budget model will most likely not be available until at least May 20. Lewis said exact numbers are hard to determine until nearly the end of the fiscal year.

While the preliminary budget for food services remains largely unchanged from previous years, Lewis noted that the school district would likely see smaller reimbursement than recent years in that area.  

For the last two years, the district has received a higher reimbursement in this category due to a national waiver that paid for all school lunches. This waiver will end June 30,  and food costs will experience an increase. Meal costs for students have not been increased since the 2016-2017 school year.

The school board also discussed the possibility of adding a part-time computer aided drafting instructor.  The motion to add a part-time instructor for the fall semester was unanimously approved by the board members present. Trustees Greg Borcher and Don Hansen were absent.

Other items discussed at the April 12 meeting included approval of a set of administrative procedures on first reading as well as approval of two additional sets of procedures on second and final reading.  

During his annual report, Assistant Superintendent Jason Sleep praised the district for school testing scores that rated above the state average.

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