TEACHERS AT SC GET PAY HIKE; SCHOOL BOARD OKs ABOUT $1,000 RAISES

SCOTT CITY -- Teachers who "bit the bullet" due to a salary freeze last year will be rewarded with almost a 7 percent raise this year in the Scott City School District.

In addition, the starting teacher's salary in the district was raised to $19,500, $100 more than the beginning teacher's salary in the Cape Girardeau School District.

"We kind of bit the bullet last year, so I guess the wait was worth it," said learning disabilities teacher Craig Schnurbusch minutes after the school board approved the raises at a Thursday night school board meeting.

Schnurbusch was one of several teachers and administrators who attended the meeting. Most left smiling.

"I think most teachers will be surprised," said Diann Bradshaw, who teaches high school math. "We had heard talk of this, but we really didn't know what was going to happen before tonight. I think all of us are going to be very, very happy."

The board unanimously approved the raises, but not before discussing whether the district can afford the move.

Under the district's salary schedule, teachers move up a notch because of additional years of employment or additional schooling. Along with it they normally received a raise of 3.45 percent. Last year all salaries were frozen and no one moved up the schedule.

Superintendent Bob Brison said the 6.9 percent raise approved Thursday represents two years of moving up the salary schedule and merely brings salaries back to the level they should be.

"This is where we would have been if the governor hadn't rudely interrupted us," Brison said, referring to cutbacks last year in state funding of schools condoned by Gov. John Ashcroft.

During the meeting, Brison told board members the district is in much better shape financially than was expected. Instead of projected deficits in several funds, the district actually has excesses.

He said cuts in staff, supplies and programs ordered last year in anticipation of tough financial times not only kept the district financially sound but put it far into the black.

"As a whole, these are the best balances we've had since I've been here," he told board members.

The 6.9 percent across-the-board increase includes administrators, secretaries, custodians and cooks. In addition, the base starting salary for teachers was increase to $19,500 from $18,500. Most teachers will also advance on the salary schedule.

Schnurbush said the end to the salary freeze is well deserved.

"All of us are carrying bigger loads than we did last year, and we've watched the district cut back on everything," Schnurbusch said. "I think they're well deserved."

Before the board approved the raises, school board member Tom Anderson warned other members not to overextend the district's budget and face having to freeze salaries next year to make up the difference.

"I'd rather be more conservative," Anderson said. "Let's give the staff all we can give, but let's not put ourselves in a bind."

Brison, who drafted the $3 million budget, said he was certain the raises would not propel the district anywhere near financial hardship.

"If I didn't think we could do it, I wouldn't have put (the raises) in the budget," he said.

Anderson cited a struggling economy and uncertainty in the amount of state funding the district will receive as reasons to rethink the pay hikes. "There are a lot of things we still don't know. To me this is just a scary time," he said.

Brison said, "I remember how precarious it was when we had $6,000 balances, and I wouldn't want to put any of us through that again."

In the end, the board approved the salary hikes, which will add at least $60,000 to the district's expenditures next year.

Brison said teachers' and other employees' salaries are back on track, and the 6.9 percent raise makes up for the absence of a 3.45 percent raise last year.

"We're not trying to show any of the other districts up here. We've got a lot of teachers who have spent their entire careers in Scott City," he said.

"And since we've cut back on expenses, our teachers have made the extra effort to make things run smoothly. This is a way to acknowledge that effort and get salaries back in line."

The superintendent said district officials will continue to keep close watch on other expenses. Teachers will likely continue to have larger classes and more responsibilities than they did two years ago, he said.

"We run a real efficient operation here," Brison said. "We've cut back on expenses, we have one building to maintain, one custodial staff, one cooking staff. We've tried to make thinks work as efficiently as possible."

Starting teachers' salaries in other districts are: Cape Girardeau, $19,400; Jackson, $18,400; Chaffee, $18,900; Perryville, $20,000; Scott County Central, $18,400; Thomas W. Kelly at Benton, $18,000; Delta, $18,000; Oran, $18,000; and Meadow Heights, $18,000.