SUDDEN BENEVOLENCE:
No one can argue about a raise for the teachers. Teachers deserve whatever the taxpayers can afford to pay them.
Notice that I mention the affordability factor! Combine the expense of $14.4 million with the proposed bond referendum amount of about $1 billion, and KISD residents are looking at a tax increase that may come soon. They have to pay for all this largesse somehow.
If taxpayers believe students are receiving a good education, they won't mind paying for the increases. Therein lies the problem. More and more citizens are beginning to realize that KISD does NOT provide such a great education. When only about a third of KISD graduates can expect to get a degree from a Texas four year college, there is no good argument that flies with regard to the level of education that is being delivered in our local Katy public schools. I would add that it is not the teachers who are at fault, but the curriculum that is currently in place. (See Katy ISD/Curriculum elsewhere on this web site.)
Unfortunately, I am suspicious of this early decision to offer teachers a pay raise. Always, and I mean always, the teachers get their pay increase notices just before school starts. Last year the Board approved raises of 3.5% across the board at the end of July. The fact that this has always been a practice was made known to me when I first ran for the school board in 1990. When I visited with teachers' organizations, that was the most often made complaint.
I asked about the matter when I was elected in 1991. I was told that there was no way the financial administrators could know in May or June how much money they would have for this item (teacher salaries).
The suggestion that the raise, as proposed, will also let KISD get new teachers that other districts (read Cy Fair) would otherwise attract, is a claim that bears scrutiny. If the biggest raises were given to long term teachers, why would that attract new teachers? They didn't give new teachers a 7.09% raise. They got 4.26% raise. Katy ISD's starting salary is $49,000--up $2000 from last year, so we appear to have been a bit behind other districts already. In 2014 HISD is at $49,100. Cy Fair is $50,025. Fort Bend ISD is $50,000. Board member Joe Adams is correct in pointing out that KISD may be lagging behind other districts.
The superintendent suggested in the Chronicle article that by the time teachers have five years of experience, they want to be working in KISD. In the last reportable year (2012) Katy had a turnover rate of 13.2%. Cy Fair had a turnover rate of 12%. Cy Fair has about a third more students and teachers than KISD. That's a lot of people leaving before they get to five years.
It would be interesting to know what the stipend situation is in Cy Fair. In Katy the District spends almost $6 million every year in stipends for all sorts of things. The chart for that is on this web site. Stipends bump up many salaries for teachers and coaches.
Also, it seems that KISD prefers to hire inexperienced teachers over teachers with experience. So their new hires aren't going to be experienced teachers.
So what is this teacher pay raise all about?
Surely at this late date they aren't trying to make up for firing 300+ teachers three years ago.
Surely it's not to counter the Chronicle headline (8/9/14) that said, with reference to TEA School Ratings, "Cy-Fair Tops in Big Districts" with Katy ISD listed with the also-rans. Cy Fair "earned the distinction of being the biggest district in which all campuses met the standards."
Surely the superintendent isn't suffering from pangs of conscience.
Surely this isn't a ploy to coerce teachers into voting for the bond proposal by assuaging their oft heard concern over their salaries.
Or is it?
See how your child's school was ranked: www.chron.com/TEArankings
Teacher pay raise schedule for 2014-2015:
2014-15 Teacher Salary Schedule (approved June 23, 2014)
|
Step |
Bachelor |
Master |
Doctorate |
|
0 |
49,000 |
50,000 |
51,000 |
|
1 |
49,100 |
50,100 |
51,100 |
|
2 |
49,300 |
50,300 |
51,300 |
|
3 |
50,300 |
51,500 |
52,700 |
|
4 |
50,800 |
52,900 |
53,950 |
|
5 |
51,250 |
53,350 |
54,250 |
|
6 |
52,850 |
54,950 |
55,150 |
|
7 |
52,950 |
55,050 |
55,250 |
|
8 |
53,250 |
55,250 |
55,550 |
|
9 |
53,350 |
55,450 |
55,750 |
|
10 |
53,750 |
55,650 |
55,950 |
|
11 |
54,150 |
55,850 |
56,350 |
|
12 |
54,750 |
56,250 |
57,550 |
|
13 |
55,050 |
56,950 |
58,200 |
|
14 |
55,550 |
57,907 |
59,192 |
|
15 |
56,050 |
58,406 |
59,692 |
|
16 |
56,800 |
59,156 |
60,442 |
|
17 |
57,600 |
59,956 |
61,242 |
|
18 |
58,400 |
60,757 |
62,042 |
|
19 |
59,000 |
61,356 |
62,642 |
|
20 |
60,100 |
62,456 |
63,742 |
|
21 |
60,400 |
62,757 |
64,042 |
|
22 |
60,700 |
63,056 |
64,342 |
|
23 |
61,000 |
63,357 |
64,642 |
|
24 |
61,475 |
63,832 |
65,117 |
|
25 |
62,260 |
64,617 |
65,902 |
|
26 |
62,940 |
65,296 |
66,582 |
|
27 |
63,600 |
65,957 |
67,242 |
|
28 |
64,200 |
66,556 |
67,842 |
|
29 |
65,000 |
67,356 |
68,642 |
|
30 |
65,740 |
68,097 |
69,382 |
|
31 |
66,400 |
68,757 |
70,042 |
|
32 |
67,100 |
69,456 |
70,742 |
|
33 |
67,750 |
70,107 |
71,392 |
|
34 |
68,450 |
70,807 |
72,092 |
|
35 |
69,200 |
71,557 |
72,842 |
|
36 |
70,000 |
72,356 |
73,642 |
|
37 |
70,700 |
73,057 |
74,342 |
|
38 |
71,400 |
73,757 |
75,042 |
|
39 |
72,100 |
74,455 |
75,741 |
|
40 |
73,000 |
75,356 |
76,642 |
And always remember that Alton Frailey, the superintendent, makes $315,359 plus a $15,000 expense account. Puts things in perspective, doesn't it?