Friday, May 25, 2012

‘Steps & ladders’ costs big bucks

Teacher promotions add more than $500,000 annually to budget

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By TERRY SMITH
Express Staff Writer

The Blaine County School District’s teacher salary schedule allows teachers to receive annual pay raises of 3 percent as they increase experience and gain additional college credits or degrees. The left-hand column is years of teaching experience, while the horizontal column at top denotes whether the teacher has a bachelor’s or master’s degree and how many additional college graduate credits he or she has earned. Express graphic by Erik Elison

The "steps and ladders" program, sometimes referred to alternatively as "steps and lanes," typically receives secondary notice when salaries are negotiated for teachers in the Blaine County School District.

However, the steps and ladders promotion system, where many teachers are guaranteed annual salary increases of 3 percent, adds more than a half-million-dollar obligation to the district budget each year. It's not a one-time expense either. A $500,000 obligation for one year becomes a $1 million obligation in its second year, and the obligation continues to grow thereafter.

While increases in the teacher base salary typically get the most attention when it comes to negotiations between the teachers union and the district, and when it comes to ratification of an agreement by the union and the district board of trustees, the steps and ladders promotion system typically costs the district more money and stays in existence with only minimal discussion.

For the 2012-13 school year, the school board has approved a 2 percent increase in the teacher base salary structure, an action that district Business Manager Mike Chatterton said will cost the district $490,000. But, according to Chatterton, continuation of steps and ladders, as was negotiated and approved by the school board, for 2012-13 will cost the district $550,000.

In 2011, the school board also approved a 2 percent pay raise for teachers, costing the district about $480,000. But Chatterton said last year that continuation of the steps and ladders program, as was approved for the 2011-12 school year, would cost the district $610,000.

The 2 percent base salary increase, combined with another 3 percent because of steps and ladders, allowed many teachers in the Blaine County School District to receive 5 percent pay increases two years in a row.

For two years prior to 2011, teachers went without any increase in the base salary. However, steps and ladders continued in those years, costing the district more than $500,000 each year.

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How it works

Under the existing salary schedule, a beginning teacher with a bachelor's degree and no experience or graduate credits now starts with an annual salary of $39,913. With steps and ladders, that teacher will receive a 3 percent pay increase every year for seven years. At the end of seven years, that teacher's annual salary will be $47,657.

After those seven years, that teacher will be what the district calls "bottomed out." However, by earning nine graduate credits, he or she can move into a new "lane" on the salary schedule.

Moving into a new lane provides another 3 percent annual pay raise. That same beginning teacher, now with nine graduate credits, can continue to receive an annual pay increase of 3 percent for two more years. After nine years of experience, that teacher would have an annual salary of $53,088 and would again be "bottomed out."

The steps and ladders program stays in effect while a teacher gains experience and additional graduate credits. However, a teacher becomes permanently bottomed out after he or she has accumulated 20 years of experience and has a master's degree and nine additional graduate credits. A permanently bottomed out teacher has an annual salary of $84,121.

While no provision was made this year in contract negotiations to provide promotional pay increases to permanently bottomed-out teachers, in 2011 the district and the school board elected to spend $94,000 from federal economic stimulus funds to give those teachers a one-time 1 percent pay increase.

It should be noted that the salary schedule now applicable to teachers will only be applicable to those teachers hired by Oct. 15. After that, a new schedule will be implemented for new teachers that will reduce base salaries by 12.3 percent. But even many of those teachers will still qualify for annual 3 percent pay increases because of the steps and ladders program.

The lower salary schedule for new teachers was negotiated earlier this month by the teachers union and the district and was approved by the school board on May 17.

Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com

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