MUSD employees to get 6% raise

 

In its preliminary budget, Maricopa Unified School District is giving all its employees a 6% percent raise. The governing board voted 4-1 Wednesday.

Originally, the proposal was a 6% raise for teachers and a 5% raise for administration and classified staff. However, board member Torri Anderson had requested a look at the financial impact of an across-the-board raise of 6%.

After looking at the difference of $147,000 and receiving new budget information, the board approved the salary proposal. Anderson voted against it, saying she wanted to be conservative.

The financial impact to the district is $2.26 million. According to Finance Director Jacob Harmon, the growing district will have around $4 million in new revenue.

Board Vice President Ben Owens said the difference between the original proposal and the 6% raise for all was less than 1% of the $53 million budget. He said across-the-board was the way to go.

The district’s goal is to get teacher salaries above the state average, Superintendent Tracey Lopeman said.

“This helps us get there. As all districts around the state over the past couple years have increased their salaries at the same level, if we want to close that gap, we have to increase it more,” Lopeman said.

The state’s average teacher salary is $52,441, an increase of 7% during 2018-19, according to the Auditor General’s Office. MUSD’s average teacher salary is $50,359.

Lopeman had recommended 6% for teachers and 5% for other employees, which was in the proposed budget. She said that concept elevated teachers and “didn’t create a difficult decision for the board regarding administrative salaries.”

The extra boost from 5% to 6% for an across-the-board raise would come from the Maintenance & Operations budget.

Anderson said the $147,000 difference could be used in other areas or for unexpected expenses. Board members were also concerned the money might not be available in future years.

Finance Director Jacob Harmon said his office recommended the 6%-5%-5% as “a little bit of a more responsible approach,” but said he believes the budget can handle the full increase. “If we were really uncomfortable with 6%-6%-6%, we’d be a little bit louder than we are.

“We believe raises are extremely important, and we want to prioritize for that.”

Though Lopeman agreed with board members worried about future funding, she said other expenses would be prioritized around the “big rocks” of the employee salaries.

“I guarantee every board member sitting on this dais that we would never present anything that would put you or me or any one of our cabinet members in any kind of compromising situation, ever,” she said.

“We wanted to prioritize those items, just like you do in your own home. You gotta make your house payment. No matter what, this is going to happen.”

Though board member Patti Coutré did much of the grilling of staff over future needs and risks, she said she is always in favor of across-the-board salary decisions. “I value all of our employees… Teachers don’t do their jobs by themselves. They rely on those other positions.”

In his last meeting as a board member, Joshua Judd said the difference was a low number “for an egalitarian-type raise.”

Though the board does not approve the budget for a few months, Harmon said it was important to get contracts out early.

Board President AnnaMarie Knorr said she also worried the district would not be able to maintain the 6% raise for classified in the next budget and didn’t want to create an expectation. But she pointed to the strong growing spell the district has been in.

Knorr also said the teachers have been given higher raises than other employee groups in the past and continuing to do so might have unintended consequences. “I think we have shown teachers that we appreciate them,” she said. “We really have to think long and hard about the message that we’re sending.”

The 6% raise for all is still preliminary until the final approval of the 2020-21 budget. Some numbers are not in stone because positions like bus drivers, monitors and ESS teachers are variable.

However, as laid out in the agenda, the 6% raise for certified (teaching) staff would total $1,377,805.85 for the district. For classified staff, it would be $658,688.97. For administrative staff, it would be $220,926.40.