24 Jun 2002
Administration Proposing Up To $3,000 Increase For Beginning Teachers
DALLAS-Dallas Independent School District employees will be in line for a pay raise this fall if the board of trustees votes June 27 to approve an increase that would make the district's beginning teachers much more competitive with other school districts in the state, Superintendent Mike Moses announced Thursday.
Under the administration's proposal, a beginning DISD teacher would be paid $37,000 beginning this fall-an increase of almost $3,000 over the amount currently paid, and among the highest in the state. Through the proposal, DISD teachers would receive increases ranging from 3 to 10.4 percent. Beginning teachers presently are paid $34,100.
Under the proposal, beginning professional support personnel would see an increase from $34,100 to $39,000-and increases for all professional support personnel would range from 6.4 to 15.7 percent.
Additionally, the district is proposing compensation increases for support personnel-a $1,400 increase across the board and a 4 percent increase for the other professional employees of the district who have not reached the top range in their pay schedule. Those who have exceeded their range would receive a 2.5 percent raise.
"We have long said we want to be more competitive when it comes to beginning teacher salaries, particularly here in the Metroplex," Moses said. "If the board of trustees adopts this proposal the district will be among the highest paying districts in the state.
"School districts are made outstanding by great teachers," Moses said. "Parents choose schools based on the quality of teachers. If people believe that Dallas has great teachers, then I think our schools have a great chance of being selected."
The superintendent said the total cost for the compensation package would be $46.5 million with $40.1 million coming from general operating funds and another $6.4 million coming from other funding sources.
The superintendent also recommended using other district funds to increase the district's monthly contribution for health insurance from $200 to $225. Moses reminded the board employees also will begin receiving an additional $83 per month or $1,000 per year from the state for health care beginning in September.
The superintendent said the district would continue to support the longevity pay program that has been in place, but would be modifying the district's teacher "pay for performance plan" by reducing its funding from $2 million to $1 million and using the savings toward the salaries of support staff.
As an extra bonus for teachers, the superintendent also unveiled a proposal to provide all district teachers and librarians with a laptop computer by January of 2004. The superintendent said the plan likely will mirror the program used at Houston ISD.
"We have a great chance of people wanting to subscribe to Dallas schools," Moses said. "This recommendation does two things: It says that we value the work our employees have done the last two years in improving student performance, and there has been improvement in student performance in Dallas. I want us to recognize the teachers and our employees for those efforts to improve performance.
"Secondly, it says we want to be competitive in this market and we want to be sure when our personnel department and our recruiters go out that they are armed with a compensation package that will look very attractive to the best teachers in Texas and across the country, so when people think of teaching they will think of teaching in Dallas."
He also said the district will seek permission to reallocate funds from the statewide Technology Infrastructure Fund, so that those dollars may be used to fund the purchase of the laptop computers for district teachers.
The superintendent said the proposal also would allocate $2.6 million for a $250 a year stipend for teachers and librarians to use for school supplies. If the proposal is approved, teachers would see the funds in their September paycheck.
During his presentation, the superintendent said the administration also was seeking to provide district employees with an attendance incentive, but said details were still being developed. He said that the administration plans to put $1 million aside for stipends for teachers who successfully complete a Spanish Language Acquisition program. DISD will allocate $700,000 for a $500 annual stipend for eligible ESL teachers.
Under the proposal, teachers would be under the following pay schedule:
Proposed Teacher
|
Step
|
2002-2003 Bachelor's
|
2002-2003 Master's
|
2002-2003 Doctorate
|
|||||||||||||||
|
1
|
37,000
|
38,000
|
40,000
|
|||||||||||||||
|
2
|
38,500
|
40,000
|
42,000
|
|||||||||||||||
|
3
|
40,500
|
42,000
|
44,000
|
|||||||||||||||
|
4
|
42,500
|
44,000
|
46,400
|
|||||||||||||||
|
5
|
44,200
|
46,400
|
48,700
|
|||||||||||||||
|
6
|
46,200
|
48,700
|
51,000
|
|||||||||||||||
|
7
|
47,700
|
51,000
|
53,500
|
|||||||||||||||
|
8
|
49,700
|
53,500
|
56,300
|
|||||||||||||||
|
9
|
51,750
|
57,500
|
59,550
|
|||||||||||||||
|
10
|
53,050
|
58,950
|
61,050
The superintendent said the district also would adopt the following schedule for longevity pay for teachers and related instructional personnel and professional support employees if approved for the 2002-2003 school year. Stipend
|