Superintendents side with teachers on pay

As budget cuts continue to take a toll on Missouri school districts, local superintendents say they will not accept a pay increase next year if their teachers don't get raises.

In Cape Girardeau, administrators say they will actually take a pay cut next year because all travel stipends have also been eliminated. For administrators at the central office, that will mean around $1,000 less in annual salary next year.

"It's a matter of leadership," said Mark Bowles, superintendent in Cape Girardeau. "We're asking people to give up a lot of things, and this is one thing we as administrators can forgo."

Although teaching positions were eliminated in all three districts, teachers and administrators in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City school districts received raises for the current school year.

In Cape Girardeau, both teachers and administrators received a 4 percent raise as well as additional increments for furthering their education.

Bowles, who is under a contract rather than the district's administrative salary schedule, received a 5 percent raise to increase his salary of $104,000 to $110,000.

Including Bowles' pay, the district raised salaries for its 25 administrators by a total of nearly $70,000 from the previous school year.

The Cape Girardeau School Board approved a salary freeze for all teachers and administrators next year, and Bowles has announced that he will not accept a pay raise because of those cuts.

Teachers and administrators in Cape Girardeau will not receive a pay increase in 2004-2005 based on years in the district; however, they will be eligible for raises for continuing education through college courses.

In Jackson, salaries for 20 administrators were increased by a total of $13,700 for the current year. Unlike in Cape Girardeau, no administrators are on a salary schedule. Instead, they receive the same raise percentage each year as teachers in the district.

For the current year, that raise for both teachers and administrators was approximately 1 percent. Using that same percentage, superintendent Dr. Ron Anderson's salary went from $113,375 to $114,609.

Anderson said he doesn't know if the district will have the finances to give raises for the 2004-2005 school year.

"But we wouldn't give one segment a raise and not the others," Anderson said. "It's not going to be different."

In Scott City, superintendent Diann Bradshaw-Ulmer said she originally volunteered to forgo her raise this year because teachers' salaries were frozen.

When the financial outlook improved before the start of school, teachers were given a raise as were Bradshaw-Ulmer and other administrators. Bradshaw-Ulmer's salary is now $71,440. The district has four administrators, and two of them are new this year.

Scott City uses the same salary schedule for teachers and administrators, including Bradshaw-Ulmer. The schedule gives an average 2 percent raise for years of experience and additional college credit. Teachers and administrators for the current year received raises for both increased years of experience and professional training.

As with Jackson, Bradshaw-Ulmer said her district does not know if raises will be given for next year.

Her superintendent's contract was renewed in January, and at that time Bradshaw-Ulmer said she again declined her scheduled pay increase until she knows teachers will also receive a raise.

cclark@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128