Cape district looks again at pay for part-time teachers

The Cape Girardeau School District is re-evaluating compensation for part-time teachers.

The school board met Friday to discuss a cap on salaries for part-time and temporary teachers.

"It's become apparent to me that we will have to begin a serious discussion about payroll as it relates to the budget," said board member Tony Smee.

Full-time teachers received a 2.29 percent raise when the district set salary schedules in April. When the district approved its $42.9 million operating budget in June, it moved $1.3 million from its reserve funds to balance the budget overall.

Because the district has used reserve funds to balance the budget in recent years, the board should act quickly to assess part-time compensation and avoid future cuts, said board member Paul Nenninger.

Part-time teachers are compensated with an hourly wage calculated by where they fall on the full-time salary schedule. Retired teachers earn an hourly wage based on their experience before they retired, but they cannot work more than 550 hours per year, said superintendent Dr. Jim Welker. The district employs 12 part-time teachers who are retired, he said.

Board member Laura Sparkman said she is not against hiring retired teachers, but she does not think they should be paid according to their previous pay rate. She said she agreed with other board members who said the compensation change should be a transition.

"For me the bottom line is that there would be plenty of notice to anyone who would fall into that category in the future," said Dr. Steven Trautwein.

Welker said he will present the board with an analysis of proposals regarding part-time compensation at the Sept. 21 board meeting.

abusch@semissourian.com

388-3627

Pertinent address:

301 N. Clark Ave., Cape Girardeau, MO