Superintendents at South Pike and Amite County school districts said there are good and bad parts in the legislation approving teacher pay raises.
House Bill 504 calls for the state’s public school teachers to receive two across-the-board pay raises totaling $2,500. Teachers then become eligible for merit raises in 2016 and 2017. Those raises would be tied to school performance.
Members of the House and Senate agreed to the plan on Monday. Gov. Phil Bryant must sign the bill before it becomes law.
“I have concerns about the language in the bill,” South Pike Superintendent Dr. Estes Taplin said. “It appears there is not going to be a pay raise for everyone. If the bill is based upon the way it is written, principals of schools will have to provide documentation as to whether or not teachers will get a pay raise.”
Depending on their degree, beginning teachers at South Pike earn $31,700. Those with master’s degrees start off at $33,960 and earn $59,120 after 35 years. Teachers with a specialist’s degree start off at $35,190 and can earn up to $62,695 after 35 years. Teachers with doctorates begin at $36,420 and can earn up to $66,270 after 35 years.
“I think the language of the bill would create some morale problems among staff members,” Taplin said.
Amite County Superintendent Scotty Whittington’s view of the bill was similar.
“Merit pay tied to the rating of the school itself, not necessarily how good the teachers are is the part I don’t like about the bill,” Whittington said. “Teachers need a pay raise no doubt, but tying it to school performance rather than teachers’ performance is not merit pay.”
The Amite County School District employs approximately 100 teachers at the high school, elementary and Vo-Tech.
The average salary of Amite County teachers is $44,096, according to district payroll manager Lyndsey Thornton. The starting salary for district teachers with a bachelor’s degree is $32,650.
HB 504 includes a $1,500 raise that begins on July 1. A $1,000 raise follows in the budget year beginning July 1, 2015. The Legislature passed a bill Monday to cover the $60 million-plus cost of the plan’s first year.
The third year of the bill would give $100 per student to schools with an “A” rating on the state’s A-to-F grading system, or to schools moving up in grades.
Schools with a “B” rating get $75 per student. Money would go to merit payments divided among all school teachers and employees. Administrators and principals would be excluded.
Critics of the measure say the money encourages the best teachers to leave for high-performing schools, leaving ones that need the most help in a lurch.
“If it’s the only way for teachers to get a pay raise, I’m for it,” Whittington said. “There are parts of the bill I don’t like, but I like the fact that teachers are going to get a raise.”
