NCSD employees to get 2 percent raise

Employees across the Newton Community School District will have a little more in their pockets tomorrow after the district’s board of education approved raises for all employees during Monday’s regularly scheduled board meeting.

All of the district’s non-contracted employees will receive a 2 percent increase, which will go into effect July 1. Some technology staff will receive a 5 percent increase in their compensation package, a move that superintendent Bob Callaghan said represents the greater workload those employees have taken on this year.

“They have to step up and accept more responsibilities and duties that Dan Sloan used to do,” Callaghan said.

Sloan, who previously led the district’s technology department ,was not replaced after he left Newton schools last year. In lieu of replacing his position, administrators have decided to allow the remaining technology employees manage the department. To compensate their extra work, administrators wanted to offer a larger raise for technology employees.

“We reduced Dan’s salary totally, and tried to give them an equivalent increase in salary,” Callaghan said.

Board members also voted to provide the district’s administrative staff with a 2 percent raise, the first in two years. Callaghan advised board members against offering a raise to administrators last year, citing concerns over budgeting issues.

“Our budget was extremely tight last year,” Callaghan said.

The proposed raises represent one of the final pieces of the puzzle for school board members to sort as they look to put the finishing touches on the district’s budget for the 2018-19 school year. The superintendent said cutbacks across the district have given board members the ability to continue to invest in people. Salary costs make up the bulk of the district’s budget.

“Finding a way to provide an increase in those compensation packages is important to our organization,” Callaghan said. “The minimal impact of the compensation packages is still twice what we’ll receive in supplemental state aid next year.”

With the district set to receive a 1 percent increase in SSA, Callaghan said administrators have worked diligently to cut costs in order to be as efficient as possible. By accessing sectional rebates, tapping into the district’s management fund and offering an early retirement package the district was able to cut costs without impacting students.

By encouraging older teachers to participate in the early retirement program administrators are able to fill those roles with less experienced teachers, who command a much lower salary.

On Monday, board member Donna Cook asked Callaghan whether or not the district was maintaining an adequate gap between salaries for administrators and teachers. Cook said she wants to ensure qualified teachers have a strong financial motivation to seek jobs as principals and administrators within the distract.

“I don’t want to create a situation where we might have talented teachers that would be discouraged from becoming administrators because they might make less money,” Cook said. “Teacher leadership as well as instruction are the keys to student learning so it’s critical we maintain a high level of that.”

The district’s certified staff will enter the second year of a two-year contract when the 2018-19 school year begins next fall. The contract, which includes a 2 percent raise for all certified staff members, will increase wages for the district’s teachers across the board. The starting salary for a first year teacher in the district is $37,564 annually. That number is higher than the median income for males in Jasper County, who earn an average of $36,001 annually, compared to $24,770 for women.

“These people are critical to the operation of our schools, including the principals,” Callaghan said.

Contact David Dolmage at 641-792-3121 ext. 6532 or ddolmage@newtondailynews.com