Oregon-Davis teachers would see their first pay raises in over a decade under the proposed 2019-2020 teacher contract, but not all teachers are happy with it. The tentative agreement would raise the starting salary for new teachers and offer veteran teachers a retirement incentive. But during a public hearing on the contract Monday, Teacher Elisabeth Cooper argued that it should have focused more on teachers in the middle.
“For example, I’m only making close to $1,200 more than a beginning teacher now, when I’ve been here eight years,” she said. “So you’re kind of saying, ‘Yeah, we want these loyal teachers to stay,’ but, to me, you’re wanting new teachers to come in. Or pay the teachers that have been here so we want to stay.”
The proposed contract calls for a starting salary of $32,000. That’s an increase of over $1,400 from the current level, but far below what most other local school corporations are paying. Anyone currently making more than that would get an $1,100 increase. On top of that, teachers would also get a one-time “loyalty stipend,” ranging from $500 to $3,200, based on their years of service at O-D.
Superintendent Dr. Don Harman said the goal was to give all teachers a raise with the limited funds available. “For example, this year, I became the [junior/senior high school] principal, and I publicly stated that we were going to save about $100,000,” he noted. “We lost 13 students. So when you lose 13 students, that was about $91,000. So really, it’s a wash. So really, the corporation has, really, no new money to address salaries and wages, but the board has been committed.”
Under the retirement incentive, the school corporation would pay the entire cost of that person’s health insurance policy, until the person turns 65. It would be available to up to three teachers who reach the age of 57 and have been with Oregon-Davis for at least 15 years. Harman was confident that the cost would be sustainable going forward. “Hey, I’m putting my neck out here,” he said. “I’m putting my neck out for the corporation. I’ll just lay it out. I would not have agreed for the board, for this corporation, to be on the hook to do that. But the corporation knows we’ve got to do something for our employees because we have not addressed salary and wages for many years. I don’t know how else to say it.”
But Board President Chris Lawrence was concerned that the incentive could end up costing a lot of money without generating significant savings. Board Member Kyle Hinds said that while the proposed contract isn’t perfect, at least it’s a start. “It’s been 14 years since you’ve got a dollar, I think, right? Maybe keep in mind this is not where we’re stopping. It’s not another 14 years before we, hopefully, have money to do something else,” Hinds said.
While the document has apparently been approved by the Oregon-Davis Classroom Teacher Association, Teacher Heather Quinn pointed out that not all teachers are members. She felt that administrators should keep in mind what they want, not just what the designated bargaining organization wants.
The school board is scheduled to vote on the contract on November 11.
