Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Teachers, board at odds over benefits, salaries

Saying teachers in the Prescott School District are upset about proposed changes in benefits would be a gross understatement.

At the April 13 meeting of the Prescott School Board, teachers voiced their displeasure at having any benefits cut. This issue was first brought up at the March board meeting, which met with teacher opposition as well.

Kay Hendrix, board president, said she thought the board was doing a good job for the district and wants to do the best it can by each and everyone. But, she added, the board is financially responsible for what it does, and if more money comes in, things can change.

The health and dental insurance would remain the same, Hendrix said, and there would be one sick day per month worked. For teachers with nine month contracts, this means they would have nine sick days. There would be two personal days under the proposed policy, and five grieving days for immediate family only.

The sick leave bank, she said, is for employees only, not family members. The district, under the proposed policy, she added, would buy back any unused sick leave teachers had at the rate of $50 per day for certified personnel and $25 per diem for classified staff. The staffs, though, could add the two personal days onto the sick leave when selling them back.

The idea of not being able to use grieving days for other family members didn't set well with the teachers, who said they wanted to keep the current policy, as it allows the use of grieving days for brothers, sisters and in-laws.

Debra Culpepper talked about the sick leave bank saying, when it was instituted in 1997, those who worked on the committee didn't take the task lightly, and people have been turned down from using it. The old policy, she said, states "immediate family".

"The new policy doesn't include help for families, just for the individual," she said. "We would like to stick with the 12 sick days also."

Hendrix said she understood where the teachers were coming from, but the board is looking at the children in classrooms, who need consistency in teaching, which doesn't occur when teachers aren't at school and substitutes are used.

Donna Smith pointed out the teachers needed to hear the proposals before any decision was made on them. It was said the Personnel Policy Committee (PPC) didn't receive its copies until Friday, April 9, and hadn't had time to examine them properly. Smith said teachers are expected to do more than the minimum, and they expect the board to do the same.

Hendrix read from a letter the district received about its financial distress status. She said the Arkansas Department of Education has determined the Prescott School District has not been in fiscal distress, but for two years, the district has been "scraping by" to stay off this list.

The raises proposed would cost $420,000, she said, and the district can't pay them with the funds it currently has. "If we'd have known we wouldn't have the $3,000 when it was mandated, we would have waited, but we gave teachers this raise anyway." (Gov. Mike Huckabee promised all teachers a $3,000 pay raise, but the state failed to fund these salary hikes.)

Pay raises aren't the only thing involved with salary increases, she said. The district is also responsible for the matching monies that go along with payroll deductions. And, she added, if the district can't get students up to federal levels, the district is responsible for special tutoring. "We don't know what this will cost, or where the money will come from."

Smith said the teachers did what was asked of them, and like the benefits they have now. "My vehicle says here till 5 p.m. or later every day, and I'm not paid for it. I have to do work at home, and we're told we don't need to be here on our off time because we wouldn't be covered by worker's comp if we were hurt."

Hyacinth Deon, Prescott superintendent, said the district never said it was in fiscal distress, but it has had a declining balance for four straight years and there's no reserve other than the end of year balance.

The district, she said, isn't losing money and had $600,000 in reserve at the end of last year. "The district has been generous when the money was there."

She said the state recommended salary step increases not be more than 15 years, but the district opposed this and offers step increases up to 20 years. The new policy, Deon added, looks a lot like the old one, and no one will work the five extra days without pay.

"I'm sorry you feel so much work is put on you, but it's what the state requires."

Smith pointed out teacher salaries for this area are in the bottom 20 percent of the state, while the administrative salaries are in the top 20 percent. "It's not good to say the administration is more important than teachers. Emmet teachers make more than we do."

Hendrix said other businesses don't offer the same kind of benefits teachers have. Smith's response was those employees don't put in the time, money and effort teachers invest, and the benefits are earned.

Pat Roberts spoke for the classified personnel, saying those who work with students aren't adequately compensated when compared to those who don't. She said the classified people hadn't had time to review the proposed policy and asked it not be approved until they had time to look it over.

The board agreed to give the personnel committees 10 days to review the proposals, with a special meeting to be called for April 27 to address these issues.