When the state Legislature completed the 2011-12 state budget in June, it included a surprise — a 1.9 percent pay cut for public school employees, and 3 percent for administrators.
Wait, said school districts.
The state does not set employee pay. It only funds schools according to its own estimates for teacher salaries.
Teacher salaries are set by individual school districts in negotiations with local teacher unions.
Some North Olympic Peninsula districts had already completed their contracts, leaving them scrambling to find more money to fund existing contracts, or renegotiate with teachers.
“We knew they were cutting funding [for schools in some areas] in April,” said Jane Pryne, superintendent of Port Angeles School District.
But the teacher salary cuts came later.
“They didn’t tell us that until June,” Pryne said.
“We weren’t sure we could cover it,” she said.
Port Angeles
Port Angeles School District employee pay will not be cut this year, Pryne said.
“We’re making up the difference,” she said.
Teacher base contracts will be cut to reflect the state cut, but the pay will be made up from the district’s general fund budget by providing special duty contracts for teachers, or adding work days for other employees.
“We can afford to do this for one year,” Pryne said.
If the state does return the employee pay funds next year, the district will need to renegotiate, she said.
Sequim
Sequim School District has a unique contract with strong language tying employee pay to the state pay scale, said Brian Lewis, district business manager.
School employees will be taking the cut on their paychecks, Lewis said.
However, because of step increases — increased pay for additional education or seniority, most will only see a 1.5 percent decrease in pay, he said.
The impact will be heaviest at the top, Lewis said.
The pay cut will only be half of 1 percent for non-teaching staff, such as secretarial, teachers’ aids and custodians.
Having salaries tied to state averages have worked in the teachers’ favor in the past, he said.
“Until two years ago, teachers had an increase each year,” Lewis said.
Quillayute Valley
Quillayute Valley School District, in Forks, is using the same tactic as Port Angeles, Quillayute Superintendant Diana Reaume said.
“We did not reduce pay,” Reaume said.
“The district will absorb it,” she said.
Like Port Angeles, the reprieve is temporary, she said.
Cape Flattery
Cape Flattery School District also used special duty contracts to make up teacher pay in the Neah Bay and Clallam Bay schools, Superintendent Kandy Ritter said.
“It’s a ‘time and effort’ contract — additional pay for instructional duties,” Ritter said.
Port Townsend
Port Townsend School District is negotiating with teachers, said Amy Khile, district business manager, last week.
Those negotiations are continuing, so far as School Board member Anne Burkart knows, she said Thursday.
The board has taken no action, and Superintendent Gene Laes, who could not be reached for comment, “is still in negotiations for the 2011-12 school year,” Burkart said.
“That has not been determined,” she said.
Negotiations with unions on how to handle the cut began Aug. 11, said Wally Lis, superintendant of Quilcene and Brinnon.
“They are looking at it unique to their districts,” Lis said.
“They aren’t looking at what other districts in the state are doing.”
Chimacum
Chimacum School District took an entirely different approach to the cut.
The district reduced the overall salary cost through attrition as several teachers retired or took leave for the year, said Superintendent Craig Downs.
The remainder was cut by reducing teacher work days, Downs said.
For administrators, that means furlough days, he said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.
