JANESVILLE
The Janesville School District hopes higher wages for new teachers will help attract and retain quality educators.
But Dave Groth, president of the Janesville Education Association, the local teachers union, told The 69 on Tuesday that the wage changes don’t account for the increasing cost of living, which makes them moot for most teachers.
The school board Tuesday night unanimously approved a $1,200 minimum salary increase for new teachers in the district. Teachers will begin their careers making at least $43,200, up from $42,000 this year.
Teacher salaries are reviewed by the district and school board every three years to ensure wages are competitive. After being hired, teachers must complete 90 hours of professional development over two years to be eligible for the next level of pay.
“Really, what that allows us to do is to be more competitive with our surrounding school districts and in the market for new teachers,” said Scott Garner, assistant superintendent.
“We’re already pretty competitive, but the $43,200 will make us even more so.”
Groth said the change won’t move the needle for more experienced staff members.
He said teachers had hoped that this fall’s operational referendum would include money to increase staff salaries. By increasing only the starting wage for new teachers, administrators let inflation defeat the rest of the salary structure, he said.
“We wanted the (salary) structure adjusted. They didn’t want to adjust the structure. They imposed a settlement on us,” Groth said, arguing that inflation voids the salary increases because teachers aren’t gaining any buying power.
Teachers are eligible for increases every year through state payments under Act 10, but new teachers must complete the 90 hours of professional development over two years to receive a pay increase directly from the district.
Groth said the issue is more of an educational system problem than a district problem but said he wishes the changes could be felt by all teachers.
“They’re passing something that for most teachers doesn’t mean anything,” Groth said.
He said only a handful of teachers in the district actually start at the district’s minimum starting wage.
“The starting salary is helping them be competitive for people to get into the district, but then once you get into it and you’re running on our salary schedule, that salary schedule is not getting adjusted for inflation. So you are really almost at a pay freeze,” he said.
The board also approved granting all teachers 15 hours in professional development credit for the 2020-21 school year, which will help them move toward the next level on the district’s pay scale.
