Warsaw Schools Reviewing All Employees' Pay
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
Some employees and their families are speaking up that it’s about time.
Jennifer Tandy, board president, said in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon that the corporation is still compiling data and doing comparisons to be discussed at the work session.
“The wage survey will look at all areas from a bus driver to the administration. It’s a complete survey,” said Tandy.
She said when she sees the completed information she will better be able to comment on it. Right now, however, they’re knee-deep in the study.
“We will do it professionally and when we have the information,” she said.
At the Jan. 23 school board meeting, Diane Shaw, a Warsaw Community High School support staff in food preparation and cashier, asked the school board about salaries and wages for support staff. Although the school corporation is a leader in many aspects, it’s at the bottom of recognizing its support staff in terms of wages, she said.
After Shaw spoke, Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz told her that her comments came at an opportune time. The school district is now conducting a salary study for all of its employee groups.
Shari Benyousky is one of the people planning to attend the March 20 work session.
Benyousky, a college professor, has three children in the Warsaw School System and her husband is a first-year paraprofessional for Warsaw.
“I have at least three friends who work as paraprofessionals who haven’t gotten a raise in three years,” said Benyousky. “For them, this is a big deal. They don’t get much to begin with.”
She said paraprofessionals work less than 40 hours a week, so they don’t get any benefits, and only make maybe $12,000 a year, but go home exhausted every day. For people who provide the community’s children with reading skills, she said they’re not getting paid very much.
“My husband works with an autistic child and it’s not an easy job,” Benyousky said.
Employees at Walmart and McDonalds start at about $7.25 an hour, she said, which is about the same as the paraprofessionals. Giving them a raise is “hardly” a waste of taxpayer dollars. She said she can hardly see how anyone can say giving them a raise is bad.
“They deserve a raise after four years,” Benyousky said. “That’s absolutely my position and I don’t see how anyone can say anything different.”
She said the school corporation can spend money on technology and other items, but can’t give the people who implement it a raise.
“It’s some issue with who is spending money on one hand and getting it on the other,” Benyousky said.
“The teachers I know work all day at school and then another four to five hours at night, so I think they deserve this,” she continued.[[In-content Ad]]In a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon, Hintz said, “First and foremost the salary study is very timely. It comes at a time when it’s the right thing to do. Many of our staff have worked without an increase for three to four years. The last two years our employees received a stipend.”
Kevin Scott, WCS chief financial officer, said teachers last received a raise for the 2008-09 school year. The salary schedule changed 2.38 percent for the 2008-09 school year over the 2007-08 school year.
In January 2009, all hourly staff received a 3.4 percent increase.
In January 2011, WCS paid a stipend to all staff members. The $500 net stipend was given to all teachers, administrators, special services staff and 40-hour hourly staff, Scott said. Hourly staff members working less than 40 hours a week received a proportionate amount.
The total of the stipends across the school district was $513,482, according to Scott.
“We used federal stimulus money from the Education Jobs Fund to primarily pay for that,” Scott said.
He said 901 employees received the stipends. Warsaw Schools is the fifth largest employer in the county.
Substitutes didn’t receive the stipends, but any employee who worked at WCS regularly were eligible for the stipend, Scott said.
“Everyone received something,” Scott said.
The 40-hour custodian who earned $8.50 an hour received a $500 net stipend just like the longtime teachers. Scott said the stipend had a bigger impact for the lower-salary employee than it did for the higher-salary employee.
“The key reason why the school corporation has not awarded increases in hourly wages and salaries is due to the economy and the school corporation, like many in the state, received less money from the state,” Hintz said.
Three years ago, the state decreased school funding by about 2 percent and that became the base for school funding, Hintz said. That cut to WCS was about $2 million, Scott said. The corporation’s revenue for the last two years was held at the same level, Hintz said, and that has caused Warsaw to tighten its belt.
“The study is long overdue,” Hintz said. It is taking a look at school corporations of comparative size to Warsaw. The study is looking at what the pay is for all comparable study groups, he said, from bus drivers on up.
With the study, Hintz said, Warsaw will find out where it ranks.
“We will have most of the data back really soon and back to the board at the March 20 work session, and then we’ll see what the possibilities are,” Hintz said.
During the work session, Hintz said, “Certainly citizens are welcome to address the board.”
Some employees and their families are speaking up that it’s about time.
Jennifer Tandy, board president, said in a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon that the corporation is still compiling data and doing comparisons to be discussed at the work session.
“The wage survey will look at all areas from a bus driver to the administration. It’s a complete survey,” said Tandy.
She said when she sees the completed information she will better be able to comment on it. Right now, however, they’re knee-deep in the study.
“We will do it professionally and when we have the information,” she said.
At the Jan. 23 school board meeting, Diane Shaw, a Warsaw Community High School support staff in food preparation and cashier, asked the school board about salaries and wages for support staff. Although the school corporation is a leader in many aspects, it’s at the bottom of recognizing its support staff in terms of wages, she said.
After Shaw spoke, Superintendent Dr. Craig Hintz told her that her comments came at an opportune time. The school district is now conducting a salary study for all of its employee groups.
Shari Benyousky is one of the people planning to attend the March 20 work session.
Benyousky, a college professor, has three children in the Warsaw School System and her husband is a first-year paraprofessional for Warsaw.
“I have at least three friends who work as paraprofessionals who haven’t gotten a raise in three years,” said Benyousky. “For them, this is a big deal. They don’t get much to begin with.”
She said paraprofessionals work less than 40 hours a week, so they don’t get any benefits, and only make maybe $12,000 a year, but go home exhausted every day. For people who provide the community’s children with reading skills, she said they’re not getting paid very much.
“My husband works with an autistic child and it’s not an easy job,” Benyousky said.
Employees at Walmart and McDonalds start at about $7.25 an hour, she said, which is about the same as the paraprofessionals. Giving them a raise is “hardly” a waste of taxpayer dollars. She said she can hardly see how anyone can say giving them a raise is bad.
“They deserve a raise after four years,” Benyousky said. “That’s absolutely my position and I don’t see how anyone can say anything different.”
She said the school corporation can spend money on technology and other items, but can’t give the people who implement it a raise.
“It’s some issue with who is spending money on one hand and getting it on the other,” Benyousky said.
“The teachers I know work all day at school and then another four to five hours at night, so I think they deserve this,” she continued.[[In-content Ad]]In a telephone interview Wednesday afternoon, Hintz said, “First and foremost the salary study is very timely. It comes at a time when it’s the right thing to do. Many of our staff have worked without an increase for three to four years. The last two years our employees received a stipend.”
Kevin Scott, WCS chief financial officer, said teachers last received a raise for the 2008-09 school year. The salary schedule changed 2.38 percent for the 2008-09 school year over the 2007-08 school year.
In January 2009, all hourly staff received a 3.4 percent increase.
In January 2011, WCS paid a stipend to all staff members. The $500 net stipend was given to all teachers, administrators, special services staff and 40-hour hourly staff, Scott said. Hourly staff members working less than 40 hours a week received a proportionate amount.
The total of the stipends across the school district was $513,482, according to Scott.
“We used federal stimulus money from the Education Jobs Fund to primarily pay for that,” Scott said.
He said 901 employees received the stipends. Warsaw Schools is the fifth largest employer in the county.
Substitutes didn’t receive the stipends, but any employee who worked at WCS regularly were eligible for the stipend, Scott said.
“Everyone received something,” Scott said.
The 40-hour custodian who earned $8.50 an hour received a $500 net stipend just like the longtime teachers. Scott said the stipend had a bigger impact for the lower-salary employee than it did for the higher-salary employee.
“The key reason why the school corporation has not awarded increases in hourly wages and salaries is due to the economy and the school corporation, like many in the state, received less money from the state,” Hintz said.
Three years ago, the state decreased school funding by about 2 percent and that became the base for school funding, Hintz said. That cut to WCS was about $2 million, Scott said. The corporation’s revenue for the last two years was held at the same level, Hintz said, and that has caused Warsaw to tighten its belt.
“The study is long overdue,” Hintz said. It is taking a look at school corporations of comparative size to Warsaw. The study is looking at what the pay is for all comparable study groups, he said, from bus drivers on up.
With the study, Hintz said, Warsaw will find out where it ranks.
“We will have most of the data back really soon and back to the board at the March 20 work session, and then we’ll see what the possibilities are,” Hintz said.
During the work session, Hintz said, “Certainly citizens are welcome to address the board.”
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