Salaries released for all school system employees
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The school system?s highest salary belongs to Director of Schools Dr. Jerry Hale, who earned $91,000 last year. Most central office administrators earned between $61,000 and $69,000 last year, while most principals earned between $55,000 and $63,000.
A look at teacher salaries showed more than half (241 of 465 teachers) earned more than $40,000 in 2005. Of those teachers, 114 earned more than $45,000.
The topic of teacher pay raises was brought up by the school board during recent negotiations with the Warren County Education Association.
The school board offered a $2,500 raise for teachers with a bachelor?s degree, and a $2,000 raise for teachers with a master?s degree. Smaller raises around $650 to $900 were offered to teachers with higher levels of education.
The WCEA later made a counteroffer to give every teacher a $2,500 raise.
?I understand teachers with a bachelor?s degree are on the lower end and you want to address that,? said WCEA president Sheila Gann. ?But we want to address the whole pay scale and everyone?s needs by doing a flat salary increase.?
The Warren County Commission gets involved because it provides school system funding. The school board?s initial proposal was expected to cost around $600,000, or about a 15 cent property tax increase. The WCEA?s counterproposal would cost even more than that, although Dr. Hale says he hasn?t yet come up with a ballpark figure.
If the county commission isn?t willing to fund substantial teacher raises, the school board and teachers union would have to renegotiate, although they have yet to come to a current agreement.
County Executive Kenneth Rogers says he?s sensitive to the fact teachers would like to earn more, but he also said he doesn?t want to single out any one group. Rogers said it would be more fair to give all county employees a raise, not just the teachers. By getting the school system salaries, it will allow commissioners to compare those figures to the salaries of other county employees.
?That was the purpose of getting this information from the school system,? said Rogers. ?If we?re going to discuss giving teachers a raise, it make sense to know what they make.?
Budget and Finance Committee chairman George Smartt said, after looking over the school system salaries, teachers are earning substantially more than others.
?If you look at cafeteria workers and what they make, and you look at bus drivers and what they make, they are the ones who are getting kicked in the teeth,? said Smartt.
Gann said she is sensitive to the needs of other school system employees, but it?s her job to represent the teachers.
?I wish I spoke on behalf of the bus drivers and the custodians because we all need significant pay increases,? said Gann.
Smartt said since word has gotten out that county commissioners have the salaries of all school system employees he has received several phone calls from people eager to see the information.