Some Az school districts shun intended raises, lawmakers say
by Leah Duran on Mar. 02, 2007, under Education, LocalA significant number of school districts failed to give teachers and other school employees pay raises that legislation approved last year intended for them, lawmakers said Thursday.
The Legislature appropriated $100 million to improve the salaries of public school employees other than administrators.
Participants at a news conference Thursday said the goal was improving retention and recruitment by giving school employees a raise beyond any cost-of-living adjustment, something they said isn’t happening in many districts.
“The money provided by the Legislature has not funded these salary increases,” said John Wright, president of the Arizona Education Association.
“All districts need a competitive salary above inflation in order to attract and retain quality teachers,” he said. “We don’t have enough teachers to fill current vacancies.”
In addition to the appropriation, voters in 2002 approved Proposition 301, which included provisions for an annual tax to fund increases in teachers’ salaries.
Money from both sources should have provided a salary boost of 4.4 percent, the union said.
Sen. Linda Gray, R-Glendale, said certain districts have “slighted teachers.”
“I am disappointed and angry at school districts, administrators and school board members who did not support the intent of the legislation to increase all teachers’ salaries,” Gray said.
“Some teachers did not even receive a 2 percent raise,” she said.
In a news release, the union said two districts planned to use the additional money to cover deficits while some other districts had pointed to discrepancies between the amounts they had received and what they thought they should have received.
While the union didn’t identify the school districts, including the two it said planned to cover deficits, it said similar situations were occurring around the state.
John Hartsell, a spokesman for the union, said it was difficult to pinpoint districts that are failing to comply with the law’s intent.
In a telephone interview, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said he proposed last year that each teacher in Arizona receive a $2,500 raise.
“The $100 million was not adequate, and the bill left it open for some districts to not pay it out properly,” Horne said.
Horne noted that Tucson Unified School District used the money for previously negotiated raises.
Chyrl Hill Lander, a TUSD spokeswoman, said the district followed the legislation.
“We used the funds for salary and benefits for nonadministrative personnel,” Lander said. “The legislation didn’t say the funds had to be used for additional salaries or bonuses.”
Horne and the union have asked the Arizona’s Attorney General’s Office to clarify the bill’s intent as to how the money should be spent.
Rep. Jackie Thrasher, D-Glendale, who is a music teacher in Washington Elementary School District, said that attracting and retaining the best teachers for public schools is a leading priority of the Legislature this year.
“It’s time to invest in our professionals that work so hard to make education great,” Thrasher said.
SB 1569, sponsored by Sen. Tom O’Halleran, R-Sedona, would establish a base salary of $35,000 for all Arizona teachers and a 2 percent salary increase for all other school employees.
