Spokane7
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June 16, 2011 in City
Principals to take pay cut; district will recall teachers
Spokane Public Schools principals have agreed to a voluntary 3 percent pay cut, a move that will help the school district offset a $13.1 million budget shortfall.
Additionally, the remaining 85 teachers who received layoff notices last month will be recalled, thanks in part to staff retirements and a new plan to maintain existing class sizes in middle school as well as at the elementary level, district spokeswoman Terren Roloff said.
During a school board work session on Wednesday, the board heard a new proposal from the administration that included pay cuts; reductions in administration, central office staff, librarians and instructional assistants; closing the administration building for one week in summer and winter; and preserving class sizes.
The district administration expects to put together a draft budget to present to the school board next week, but no final decision will be made until the budget is adopted in August.
Using $5.4 million from savings, the district decreased the gap to $6.3 million.
“None of us like making these decisions, but this is the hard stuff we were elected to do,” said Sue Chapin, board president.
While the central administration has been proposing a 3 percent pay reduction – the same amount cut by the state – and a freeze in the raises given for longevity, the principals’ pay had to be bargained. The administration announced Wednesday the principals voluntarily agreed to a 3 percent pay cut and salary freeze, for a $398,000 savings.
The reduction in pay to certified staff would be 1.9 percent, the same amount cut by the state, for $1.9 million in savings.
Class size has been the primary focus as school officials struggled with cuts. The board agreed to temporarily suspend class size limits and allow up to three more students – a $5.5 million savings. But community members and teachers begged officials to cut whatever else they could before touching class size.
The board had already decided to keep the class size at its current level in K-6, and it has determined to keep class sizes in grades 7 and 8 as well.
As the district is making cuts, officials are still considering investments. Those include academic intervention and credit retrieval programs, a K-8 online learning program and more all-day kindergarten.
Said Chapin, all-day kindergarten is “one very concrete way to help kids.”
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Spokane_Citizen on June 16 at 6:23 a.m.
Big deal. Principals taking 3 percent pay cuts….they still netted a positive increase in pay (on already very generous salaries and benefits), since they were recently awarded a much more substantial pay increase than the 3 percent they’re giving up. Nothing but the best for the administrators in Spokane School District.
The lack of leadership by the school board, and the administration, exemplify the worst tendencies of this bureaucracy…feathering the nests of those who need it the least…while ignoring the plight of their students. Utterly disgusting.
william1977 on June 16 at 6:27 a.m.
3% pay cut. Big deal. I had 5% cut and 1 week furlough. I think elimination of assistant principal positions make more sense.
MrBloggy on June 16 at 6:30 a.m.
Or consolidate principals - have each span two schools.
Orange on June 16 at 7:10 a.m.
MrBloggy, on a temporary basis for one or two years. Good idea. Leading a school is tough business.
D Statler on June 16 at 7:33 a.m.
I understand the State contributes $50,000 per administrator. Any amount over the $50,000 is given from levy funds.The same funds that are collected for extra activities, lower classroom sizes and specialized services for our kids. My point is,why are these administrators paid so much more than teachers and support staff that are directly taking care of our kids and facilities ?
It is nice for them to offer 3%. It does appear they could tighten their belts alittle more before asking for more cuts in critical staff.
west on June 16 at 8:02 a.m.
District 81 salaries are not sustainable in this Great Recession, and won’t be for next 10 years. Get use to it..pay reductions.
Providing_Buttonholes on June 16 at 8:07 a.m.
west does allude to the money grubbing, self serving staff losers at District 81. Less than 1/2 the people making more tnan $100 are principals.
These weiners need to drop their pay by 10% and do 20 pushups while they are at it.
pjc on June 16 at 8:10 a.m.
How many principals are we talking about here? That would be a nice fact to add to this story.
eagleproducer on June 16 at 8:27 a.m.
So much confusion here, so little time. I’ve grown exhausted trying to cure the ignorance on these threads…
Skeletor, errrrrrr, superintendent Nancy Stowell makes two hundred grand a year with bennies.
http://www.salaries.wa.gov/documents/SchoolSuptsvsSPI2008.pdf
That chart demonstrates that Stowell (and dozens of other district superintendents) makes more than the governor. She also makes significantly more than her boss, The State Superintendent of Public Instruction. The rationale for the recent pay increases at the admin office was that since principals received a raise the placed them higher on the pay scale than some of their “bosses” at the district level, the district level personnel needed raises because they can’t make less than those they work for. You’ll notice that argument never erupted from the people making more than their bosses in Olympia.
All of these school principals earn well above the median income for Spokane, yet they lead schools with abysmal graduation rates and standardized test scores. Only a single high school in District 81 made progress as required by the No Child Left Behind Act. Where is the accountability?
Need_for_a_Change on June 16 at 12:32 p.m.
Our Spokane school Dist. 81 earlier this year, voted for and appoved pay increases for Principals, a 6-8 % pay increase. The district and board also surmised that the Principals shouldn’t make more then their supervisors. So they gave the Supervisors the same percentage of a raise. This all happened just prior to the announcement of budget cuts and lay offs. Now we are told that the Principals are going to let the district cut their pay by 3 % to help the budget. My personal feelings and I think most voters will agree. They and their supervisors should give back the 5-8 % pay increase as well as another 3 %. Making over One Hundred Thousand dollars a year for these positions is unfair to the working tax payers of Spokane. It is reasonable for Priciples to make 10 % more then the highest paid teacher, and their Supervisors a little more. But then again, why do they need Supervisors. Why should we pay for another layer of administrators when one would do.
Spokane_Citizen on June 16 at 6:41 p.m.
Well put, Need_for_a_Change. There’s obviously something very fishy afoot here. A big bump in salary for principals, and then a small token ‘give-back’. The school board, and the administration have lost all credibility….but why would they care? They’ve now got the money.