District 1 seeks committee's pay plan advice

In an effort to offer higher pay, Yuma Elementary School District 1 has sought an alternate course from its payment plan and has requested recommendations from its Meet and Confer Committee.

At a study session at District 1's office Friday, the public and committee members discussed  various options. The committee is comprised of 15 members, all district employees.

Greg Wilkinson, board president, explained that teachers in a robust economy receive cost-of-living increases but that cannot be done this year. Forecasts for next year are no better.  

However, there is in place a method to increase pay known as a placement schedule. When first-year teachers are hired, they are put at the beginning of the placement schedule that calculates salary according to experience and educational achievement.

The schedule has some inconsistencies built into the system and needs to be administered more fairly, Wilkinson said. A teacher who works for the district for five years without increasing their education credentials, such as getting a master's degree, will remain at the same rate of pay.

But if the district hires a teacher for the first time from outside the district with five years' experience, they get placed up the pay scale and in some cases get paid more than a teacher with similar experience.

"So we had to adjust that inequity and we asked the Meet and Confer Committee to come up with a plan by next April," Wilkinson said.

In another action, Wilkinson asked the committee to consider how to revive Educational Service Incorporated (ESI), a program that allows highly qualified teachers who retired to be rehired at 90 percent of their pay, but it is now on hold.

It was a win-win situation because former teachers got a chance to earn extra income and the district got the benefit of their services at a reduced cost.

"So with the economy, there is a question of what the right policy is. Can we hire ESI at 80 percent or 90 percent, because otherwise we could never get enough highly qualified teachers?"

In other business, Kitsi Tams, director of Exceptional Student Services (ESS), screened a PowerPoint presentation of special educational programs. Tams said District 1 has accommodated all disabilities yet "it would be wonderful if universities provided more special education teachers."

Tams said ESS serves 1,200 students, which can include those with autism to those with mild or even severe physical or emotional disabilities.

There are 56 special education teachers, 53 of whom are full-time highly qualified, and three are highly qualified substitutes, Tams noted.

Despite its reach, some parents of disabled children have expressed concerns about ESS to provide services. Sharon Schroader is the mother of Seth Strogner, 13, who has autism. Seth attends Ron Watson Middle School.

Schroader says there is a lack of inclusion of disabled students with the nondisabled, and often they are included in only one class with regular students.

"If they include disabled students with the regular students, it's a win-win situation because they'll interact and regular students learn what it's like for them."

District 1 needs to revamp its special education, see where its deficiencies are and correct them, Schroader said. They need better training, more equipment and more certified teachers, she said.

But Tams said all decisions in ESS are made by evaluation teams of  parents as well as faculty. Despite their best efforts, parents are sometimes disappointed with a team's decision, she noted.

The important thing to remember is that in the past two years, there have only been five complaints. Every one of those complaints was reviewed, and investigators found ESS in compliance in all cases.

And in a parent survey, parents reported more than 90 percent satisfaction in the way their children were supported by ESS. Although some students have major issues, they do everything to the best of their ability to provide equality of opportunity, Tams stressed.