Teacher performance pay impacted by recession

Local teacher pay will suffer this year because of a shortage of Proposition 301 funds, but a Yuma Elementary School District 1 board member says the district should cover the loss.

Pay to teachers will drop by $2,000 for the 2009-10 academic year, according to Gary Wright, board member.

"I feel we can use maintenance and operation funds to make up the deficit so teachers don't lose $2,000 off their contract for the year," Wright said.

Each year, interest earned from state land sales and an education sales tax are put into a Classroom Site Fund. Voters approved the Classroom Site Fund in November 2000 with Proposition 301, which added a 0.6 percent sales tax dedicated to schools.

Greg Wilkinson, board president, said the amount varies from year to year depending on the aggregate amount of tax revenue generated by sales.

"The problem is sales tax revenue is down this year and because of that, money for 301 is less. Part of that money goes toward professional development, where teachers get paid to come in for a day of training, but every penny goes to salaries and benefits."

Wilkinson also said the only way to use additional funds to make up for the Proposition 301 funds would be to cut additional staff.

Wright said that another concern of his is that principals and vice principals took no salary cuts while teachers had a 6 percent reduction.

"This budget places a huge financial burden on classroom teachers and very little on the administration and that's why I voted against it."

Wilkinson said the only staff who had money cut from their salaries were the superintendent, associate superintendents and the directors who head human resources and finance. In January, the Arizona Legislature reduced District 1's budget by $2.2 million and made another cut for the coming year which totaled 10 percent of their budget. More than 80 percent of the budget goes toward salaries, he noted.

"It's a problem with everybody tightening their belts over the next couple of years. There is a finite amount of money and we have to do something to deal with the recession."

Mike Wicks, Crane Elementary School executive director of management services, said that his district received $390 per student from Proposition 301 while this year it will be only $244.

Wicks said that was quite a drop but he also said it was tied to the fall in state sales tax revenue. He also noted it is Arizona lawmakers' Joint Legislative Budget Committee that determines per pupil spending for every district each year and the amount has been dropped for the last couple of years.

Toni Badone, Yuma Union High School District superintendent, pointed out that Proposition 301 funds are divided into three "buckets."

In the first one, 20 percent of the fund is designated for teacher salaries paid throughout the year. In the second one, 40 percent of the fund is for performance pay that is dependent upon whether the district meets academic goals according to its district plan, and is disbursed at the end of the year.

In the third bucket, 40 percent of the fund is for a variety of efforts including drop-out prevention, AIMS improvement and improved instruction. This is also paid throughout the year, according to a meet and confer committee who determines how much goes into salaries and benefits.

In the course of the past year, YUHSD teachers received $1,525 from the first bucket but teachers will get $1,650 this year because there was carryover from the prior year and it was spread out over fewer teachers. In the second bucket, teachers got $3,050 last year but this year they will get only $2,150 due to a lack of sales tax revenue. In the third bucket, teachers get $700, the same as last year.

Badone said she expects that all the above amounts will be less for the 2010-11 year because of the recession.

"We are grateful about keeping our base salaries the same this year because we are doing much more with fewer people."