MUSD will pay nearly $200K in 1% teacher pay raise from state

Local teachers will soon see a payout from the state’s recent 1.06 percent pay raise. [quote_box_right]MUSD will pay teachers from M&O because the state has not yet dispersed money to districts.[/quote_box_right]

The Maricopa Unified School District will distribute $196,000 to approximately 330 teachers by December, said District Business Services Director Aron Rausch.

That’s less than $600 per teacher.

“Our goal is to have that in the Nov. 17 payroll as one lump sum. If it’s not possible to make that payroll, then it will be Dec. 1,” Superintendent Steve Chestnut said.

Although the raise was initiated by the state, MUSD will pay teachers from the Maintenance and Operations fund because the state has not yet dispersed money to districts.

Rausch said the state will reimburse MUSD at some point in the future.

Only eligible teachers who have worked in Arizona for the past year are eligible for the raise.

“We are going to give one lump sum to returning teachers or teachers that taught in Arizona last year,” Chestnut said. “New teachers will not be included as the statute was written.”

School counselors and other “miscellaneous positions” are not eligible either, Chestnut said.

District employees in the human resources and payroll departments researched and compiled a list of around 330 educators who are entitled to a check.

Chestnut said an email will be sent to school staff explaining the eligibility details from the state.

The disbursement was discussed during a district meeting Oct. 25. Because the state has not allocated funds to schools, the district revised it’s 2017-18 budget to allow teachers to receive their raise.

The revision was approved unanimously by the district governing board Wednesday night.

“I’m surprised it’s not more,” said Board Member Torri Anderson after the vote.

The governing board debated for months this year to apply its own pay boost for teachers. Over the summer, it eventually approved a 3 percent salary increase for all district employees in its 2017-18 budget.

Although the 1 percent raise by the state has been compared to “peanuts” from teachers and education advocates around Arizona, some teachers working at MUSD will receive just over a 4 percent increase in combined pay boosts from the state and district this year.