NEWARK – Teachers will see a slight pay increase following the negotiated agreement signed by officials this week.
On Tuesday, the Worcester County Board of Education signed new negotiated agreements with the Worcester County Teachers Association (WCTA) and the Worcester County Education Support Personnel Association (WCESPA). The agreements include a step increase and a 1.14% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for teachers.
A handful of teachers expressed concern with the raise, which is lower than the 4% COLA initially proposed.
“In the long term, every year we get slighted on COLA is another ding to my retirement,” teacher Megan Seyler said. “In the short term, it’s a battle between low COLAs and high inflation. It’s deciding between buying a full grocery load of food or filling my car with gas. It’s relying on community donations to make my classroom and my instruction what my students deserve.”
School system officials extended negotiations with the associations after the county approved a maintenance of effort level budget for Worcester County Public Schools. Officials made clear at that time the 4% pay increase for teachers and the 4.5% pay increase for support staff could not be funded with the reduced budget.
The figures agreed to this week include a step increase and 1.14% COLA for teachers. That COLA, however, includes the .75% increase teachers got in April. Longevity pay will increase by $100 and eligible employees will receive a one-time bonus in the amount of $2,250. The bonus, which will be paid in two installments, is funded by the school system’s ESSER and MD LEADS grant funds.
The WCESPA agreed to a step increase and a 1.64% COLA, .75% of which was effective in April. Longevity pay will increase by $100 and support personnel will also get a bonus of $1,000.
Bus drivers will get $0.50 increase to hourly wage as well as slight increases in the fuel/maintenance formula and per vehicle allotment. Bus drivers will also get a $1,000 bonus.
Seyler said while the bonus for teachers was nice, it would not help negotiations next year, as they will be based on teacher salary, not teacher salary plus bonuses.
Another teacher, Mary Malone Hathaway, said she was concerned for herself as well as her daughter who is now a Worcester County Public Schools student.
“I am urging you, as we move forward, as Megan said, to come together, work together, and think about all of our students, much more than dollars and cents on a line-item budget but think about their futures,” Hathaway said.
When presented with the proposed agreements on Tuesday, school board member Katie Addis asked how many teachers voted for the ratification. Dwayne Staff said they didn’t have that information but did know that as far as WCESPA, 44 members voted in favor of the agreement, and one voted against.
A WCTA email provided to The Dispatch states that 89% of WCTA members voted for contract ratification and 11% voted against ratification.
Addis said she felt there was unnecessary spending in the school system’s budget that could have been used to provide teachers with the increase they were initially promised.
“While I’m happy to see that the ESSER funds were used to make up a portion of what was promised to the staff, I am in agreement with some of the personnel I’ve spoken to that feel ESSER funds were not negotiated and were always assigned to the county by the state, meaning that the board of education really didn’t sacrifice anything in this negotiation process,” Addis said.
The board voted 6-1, with Addis opposed, to sign the agreements.
