The Strong Schools Form Our Future Committee Answers Community Questions

Why can’t the school board just cut school employee wages and salaries across the board to lower expenses? 

Salaries for professionals such as teachers and administrators are set by contracts negotiated individually for the administrators or by a union for the teachers. Each contract or set of contracts has it own duration during which changes are not ordinarily made to the terms of the contracts.  Support staff wages and salaries are likewise set for a period of time. 

Even when the contracts or time frames for the wage and salary scales expire, the district will have to reset wages and salaries at levels which  are competitive with other districts and other employers.  If the school district is not competitive, it will not be able to retain current employees and will not be able to attract well qualified employees to fill  vacancies.   Quality education requires quality personnel and paying for quality personnel is a budget item that cannot be compromised.