Kris Lynn, assistant superintendent of finance and operations, said the increase in pay is in addition to employee incentive stipends previously approved. The raises alone are anticipated to cost the district $2.37 million in fiscal year 2022-23, which begins July 1, he said.
Meeting minutes show the district's "We are Montgomery" employee incentive plan for FY 2022-23 was approved by the board during the March 22 meeting.
The incentive plan includes $1,000 paid to employees who return for the 2022-23 school year—with $500 paid in December and $500 paid in May—as well as an additional $500 stipend paid in September, December and May for employees in hard-to-fill positions, such as specialized learning roles, bilingual and foreign language teachers, and bus drivers, Lynn said during the April 19 meeting.
Lynn said the district has made it a priority to give the greatest pay increase and stipend possible while maintaining a balanced budget.
The starting teacher salary will also increase to $56,200 for the 2022-23 school year, Lynn said.
“Is it where we want to be? No. Is it a significant improvement to where we were? Absolutely," Lynn said.
Lynn said prior to a compensation review in 2021, the starting salary for teachers was $51,000.
“At every level, whether you were a teacher, a paraprofessional, an administrator [or] a bus driver, we were starting to not be as competitive in the salary market as we would like to be," Lynn said.
Other pay changes include paying employees twice a month on the 5th and 20th starting in July instead of once a month, Lynn said.
“I would hope that our teachers and staff understand that we’re working through these constraints, trying to do what we can to mitigate this [compensation] problem," Board President Matt Fuller said during the meeting.
The district's next steps in preparing for FY 2022-23 include a preliminary budget presentation in May and budget adoption in June, Lynn said.
