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School District of Greenfield
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATOR COMPENSATION:
LISTENING AND LEARNING
FALL 2013
What is compensation?
Salary (wages) is an element of the compensation
system. Other elements include:
Health insurance
Life insurance
Dental insurance
Wisconsin Retirement System
Post-employment benefits
For most teachers, salary will account for 50-75% of the total
compensation package.
Example: for a teacher with a salary of $50,000, the salary
accounts for 70% of the total compensation
How was salary determined?
Salary for teachers was determined by a system of
lanes and steps
Teachers advanced on the scale based on years of
service and educational lane advancement
How was salary determined?
Since 1970s, salaries for teachers were formally
bargained per state law
Under former state law, increases to teacher
compensation needed to reach the Qualified
Economic Offer (QEO) which was set at 3.8%
The QEO did not include advancement on the
lanes/step system
So, aggregate teacher compensation often rose
higher than 3.8% annually when lane/steps were
considered, as well as benefit cost increases
Benefits and challenges of the lane/step model
Benefits:
Predictable;
Rewarded longevity;
Provided clear pathways to higher earnings.
Challenges:
Unsustainable increases relative to per pupil allowances and
increased costs in other areas (e.g., health insurance, utilities)
Compensation-related costs were increasing at a rate of 5-10%
annually while revenue authority growth was only 2%
Compensation was “back-loaded” towards those in the last few years
of employment and beyond
Often there was a 100% variance between the lowest and highest
paid teacher (e.g., teacher at $70,ooo and $35,000)
Where are we now?
Since 2011, most Wisconsin school districts have
frozen salary scales and provided across-the-board
(ATB) increases in a certain amount or percentage
Advancement on the lane/step system has largely
ceased
Stipends have been offered to those who were
enrolled in a graduate program
What are we going to do about salaries?
What’s going on elsewhere…
Lane & step model is being phased out
Big salary jumps are unlikely to occur (i.e., BA to MA to MA
+30) based on educational attainment
Most districts are going to a tiered approach
Moving from one tier to a higher tier is largely based on
experience/evaluation cycle
Each tier has a higher base salary
Some districts are looking at merit pay, or Pay-for-Performance
systems
What is the purpose of compensation?
A good compensation plan will:
Attract teachers to Greenfield
Retain teachers in Greenfield
Be fair, transparent and easily understood
Make compensation a non-topic
Reward desired behaviors aligned with the District’s culture &
mission
What is the purpose of compensation?
What does “reward desired behaviors aligned with the
District’s culture & mission” mean?
Easily put, it is professional development:
of value to the district,
to meet specific needs of the district,
that helps individuals improve their performance to
increase student achievement, and,
will not be the same for all teachers.
What is the purpose of compensation?
Compensation is a part of the attraction and retention of
staff
To the extent that compensation results in the attraction/retention of
staff, what should be done?
What else can be offered to employees?
Some differentiation in compensation may be necessary to attract
teachers to hard-to-fill certifications;
Some differentiation may be needed to attract other skill sets such as
bilingual or multiple certification teachers;
Minimize damage to teacher morale resulting from salary
differentiation.
What is the purpose of compensation?
Are teachers (are you) motivated by increased
compensation?
Is higher compensation an adequate reward?
What else attracts/retains/motivates people?
What behaviors do we need/want to reward?
Does rewarding advanced educational degrees serve the
District’s interests?
Should student performance affect teacher compensation?
Your thoughts and ideas