BOARD OKs NEW POLICIES FOR TEACHERS; MOVE DESIGNED TO ATTRACT TEACHERS TO CAPE DISTRICT

The Cape Girardeau Board of Education Monday night authorized policy changes in an effort to improve faculty salaries and morale.

Two issues related to teachers' positions on a salary schedule beginning in the 1999-2000 school year were approved during a board meeting at the Vocational-Technical school.

One of the measures approved was a change in policy to credit teachers for all years of teaching in fully accredited school districts. Previously, teachers new to Cape Girardeau schools were credited with a maximum of eight years of experience, a practice which may have kept veteran teachers from accepting jobs in the district.

"This will eliminate situations where teachers have the same experience but are on different levels of the schedule, said schools superintendent Dr. Dan Steska. "It's an effort to make teaching salaries more equitable and attract teachers to the district,"

Pat Renard, vice-president of the district's Community Teacher Association, said the policy revision will enable the district to be more competitive in its efforts to hire quality, experienced educators. The district still needs to hire about nine teachers before school begins next month.

Most area school districts have adopted similar policies in recent years to improve their ability to hire teachers.

"I think it will greatly improve staff morale for teachers who are here, help us to get teachers to stay, and help us get more experienced teachers back in the community," Renard said. "I think it's a very good step in the right direction."

In a related matter, school board members voted to end a salary freeze introduced last year and grant full credit on the teacher salary schedule for years of service and level of education.

The measure will place teachers on the salary schedule where they would have been if there had not been a salary freeze. In addition, some 20 teachers affected by the former restrictions on years of experience will receive full credit for their experience.

Teachers will not be compensated financially for their lack of movement on the schedule in the past.

"It would be nice to do that, but it won't be financially feasible to go back and get those years," Steska said.

The salary freeze, which enabled the district to improve its financial outlook somewhat in the past year, strained teacher relations, Steska said. By approving the two measures, board members took the first step in improving relations between administrators and staff, he said.

"This is a positive step towards improving staff morale, which I understand has been low," he said. "I realize the staff as a whole, by not having a competitive salary, is part of the reason we're where we are now, and I think they should be recognized for that."