Entry-level teachers working in the Pulaski County Special School District are in line to see a pay increase of almost $5,400 as the result of School Board approval Tuesday of a pay plan that is favorably weighted for early-career employees.
The board voted unanimously for the pay proposal that now must be approved by district teachers for it to go into effect for this school year -- retroactive to July 1.
Also Tuesday, the board voted 4-2 to continue for another 60 days a requirement that students and employees wear masks when inside schools as a defense against covid-19.
The pay plan, if approved by employees, will raise the salary of a first-year teacher with a bachelor's degree from $34,617 to $40,000.
Teachers in their second-through-10th years of teaching, with bachelor's degrees, would receive increases of $1,300 to $4,969 this school year, with those with lesser experience receiving the greatest increases.
Early-career employees who have earned college credits above their bachelor's degree levels up to the master's degree levels are also in line for increases of $1,000 to $4,300 this year.
Longer-tenured teachers and those with college credits above master's degrees would receive raises of less or far less than $1,000 for this year. A teacher with 10 years of experience and a master's degree plus 15 additional college credit hours would receive a raise of $524.92 to an annual rate of $53,016.
The district was motivated in drafting the pay schedule -- in consultation with its Personnel Policies Committee of teachers and administrators -- by a state law that requires the minimum teacher salary statewide to be $36,000 by 2022.
Brenda Robinson, chairman of the district's certified Personnel Policies Committee, cited the state salary law and noted the School Board's desire to be more competitive with other Central Arkansas districts in terms of starting salaries as a way to attract and retain teachers.
"In our talks, we asked how we can move forward because we want to get ahead of the game. We have been a little bit behind" surrounding districts, Robinson told the board. "We are proposing tonight to go ahead and bump the beginning salary to $40,000. That way we will be ahead of the game. I know we still have teaching positions available, and money attracts."
Robinson acknowledged that the salary schedule changes focus on new teachers while veteran teachers like herself will not see large increases.
"We talked about how we can revamp the whole salary schedule, but right now we wanted to tackle this part because we heard you loud and clear ... that you wanted a salary schedule that will help recruit and retain teachers," Robinson said.
School Board President Linda Remele and board member Eli Keller commended Robinson and the Personnel Policies Committee for the hard job of putting a salary plan forward that gives more of the money to beginning teachers. Remele she said she believes the plan not only meets requirements of the law but will help the profession and does the right thing for young teachers.
Board member Stephen Delaney said the district is in "an arms race"' for teachers with other districts, including the neighboring Little Rock School District that has a higher 46.4-mill property tax rate compared with the Pulaski County district's 40.7 mill rate.
The salary plan -- paired with the district's "tremendous" employee benefits package -- moves the Pulaski Special district from the bottom in rankings of some 15 Central Arkansas districts to the middle of the pack or higher, Delaney said. The plan won't put the district in first place, but he feels very good about it, he said.
The Pulaski County Special district provides $276.89 per month toward an individual employee's health insurance, which amounts to $3,323 per year, he said.
Emry Chesterfield, who represents the district's support service employees, told the board that while he doesn't argue about the teachers getting raises, the non-licensed employees want bonuses in recognition of their work.
Regarding the mask requirement for students and employees, Superintendent Charles McNulty recommended that the existing requirement remain in place and be reconsidered in December. The district and community have seen an uptick in cases in the past couple of weeks, he said.
Board member Brian Maune said he would prefer a system in which schools in the widespread district could relax or tighten mask requirements based on covid-19 data particular to their campuses. Some schools go weeks without any cases, seemingly making them candidates for making mask-wearing optional, he said.
Assistant Superintendent Janice Warren and Communications Director Jessica Duff advised the board that a frequently changing districtwide requirement or different requirements in different parts of the district would be difficult to communicate to parents and students.
The 12,000-student Pulaski County Special District had 39 active covid-19 cases, the second-highest number among the state's school districts, according to a Monday report from the Arkansas Department of Health. The district this week has had to shift to online instruction for prekindergartners and fourth-graders at Harris Elementary after more than 5o individuals had to be quarantined because of exposure to covid-19.
An audience member addressed the School Board early in Tuesday's meeting to say that a continued mask mandate puts the district in jeopardy of being sued, causing the district to have to use its resources on legal fees.
Board members Maune and Keller voted against continuing the mask mandate. Board members Remele, Delaney, Tina Ward and Shelby Thomas voted to keep it. Board member Lindsey Gustafson was absent.