Clintonville schools increase compensation packages
Salaried staff at the Clinitonville Public School District received a total 5.2% average increase in compensation and benefits.
CPSD hourly staff received an average of 4% increase to their hourly rates.
Clintonville School Superintendent Troy Kuhn and Business Manager Lindsay Norder made both of these recommendations.
The Clintonville School Board approved the recommended raises at the April 11 meeting.
Kuhn and Norder said their recommendation was due to the fact that districts have been forced to change the way of doing business.
They noted that how school boards and administration interact with employees has changed over the past decade.
In 2011, when Act 10 was proposed by then-Gov. Scott Walker, and later passed, it changed the educational business practice landscape.
At that time, this bill affected collective bargaining, compensation, retirement, health insurance and sick leave for public employees.
Districts across Wisconsin needed to decide to continue to offer pre Act 10 benefits or make major cuts to save money.
Since Act 10 passed, fewer teachers have been graduating from post-secondary educational systems.
The lack of graduates has driven up the cost of new employees as well as the cost for retaining quality educational staff, Kuhn said.
Finding new teachers
Many school districts send representatives to local college career fairs. Kuhn and his administrative team have been attending these career fairs and have realized that all school districts are competing for the same people.
“Every district comes with their flashy signs, food, district swag, etc. to try and attract all potential teachers to approach their table. Today’s graduating educators have more control and opportunities than ever before. They get to pick and choose what school districts they want to approach and potentially teach at,” Kuhn said.
“Graduates with high demand certifications (technical education, agriculture, FACS, sciences, math, and college ready courses) are able to ask for extra incentives for employment. This has forced us to run the district like a business and make decisions that we have not had to previously make. We need to be creative in our hiring processes and compensation packages,” Kuhn said.
“Schools are running more like private businesses. With the implementation of school choice and the private voucher program, public schools need to ensure that funding does not leave the public schools and go elsewhere. We must attract future students, parents, and employees,” Norder said. “If we don’t have the students, we cannot afford the staff.”
Benefits of referendum explained
Kuhn stressed that Clintonville taxpayers made the correct decision in passing a $37 million referendum. The referendum money will improve all areas of the district and encourage partnerships with local businesses.
The referendum has allowed staff to share spaces as well as reduce maintenance costs. It has also allowed for future consolidation or expansion as necessary.
“We, the district and community, cannot afford to consolidate. Clintonville must look to expand,” Kkuhn said “We must figure out how to attract families and students to Clintonville. I have been working with local businesses, colleges, and city leaders to determine what changes we can make. Not only will it help the local businesses and the community, but also the school district.”
Taking care of staff
In addition to attracting future families and students, the district must take care of those who are already employed here, those who are committed to improving the district and community.
“This is why we proposed a substantial increase. Inflation is at its highest since the early ‘80s. We have staff driving from great distances. The easiest way for them to save money is to find a job closer to home or receive a raise by going to another district.” Kuhn said.
Kuhn and Norder held meetings with each group of employees (teachers, custodial, paraprofessionals, clerical, etc). At the meetings they discussed current and past trends, as well as proposed changes to the employee handbook.
“Not only did we learn a lot about the history of the district, but we were also able to give the employees a safe platform to address their concerns,” Kuhn said.
New salary schedule
In addition to the raises, Kuhn and Norder proposed a new salary schedule. The schedule was built over several months with collaboration of the Salary and Benefits Committee.
The salary schedule decreased from seven lanes to three, but increased from 17 levels to 36. This allows for more equal raises throughout the employee’s career.
Kuhn said the new salary schedule helps ensure the district’s financial stability.
If CPSD were to give huge raises upfront it would put a financial strain on the district as well as limit the raises the district can give to veteran staff.
Because of the new salary schedule, raises for this year will not be equal, but will range from $1,000 to $2,000, depending where the staff member is placed on the new salary schedule.
This is why CPSD calculated the average raise for staff and not a set amount.
“The 5.2% raise is a total package,” Norder said. “Not only does this include an increase in salary (3.75% average), but also the increase in health insurance premiums and a reduction of two contracted days. The district’s health insurance will increase by 6%. When calculating the average salary increase, the district’s contribution to the insurance premium increase, and reduction of two contractual work days, the total increase is roughly 5.2 percent.”
As part of the proposal, Kuhn and Norder also explained that even with an increase in insurance and supply costs, the district must still provide an increase in wages. CPSD must have quality educators and quality programming, or people will leave the community.
District finances
Kuhn and Norder explained that they have networked with school districts across the state.
Some have not yet determined where the money will come from, others have very strategic plans in place.
“In Clintonville, we have a well thought out short term and long term financial plan. Administration, directors, board members and other stakeholders are meeting regularly to determine funding. Currently, we have a lot of different projects going on, including the referendum. This has allowed us to review funding sources, and where to best allocate our money,” Kuhn said.
“Fund 10 is our general budget, Fund 80 is our community service budget (Rec Center, Daycare, and Middle School Athletics), Fund 27 is our Special Education budget. Other funding sources include: Funding for Covid Relief, Title Funding, and numerous other grants. Referendum funds have resolved many long term facility maintenance needs. As we review these revenues, we determine what is a necessity versus a wish list item,” Kuhn said. “It is a lot to balance, and this is why we all must be on the same page and have the same goals for district spending.”
Fund balance
Kuhn and Norder said the auditors requested CPSD build its General Fund Balance back up to the policy target of 25% of the preceding years Fund 10 expenditures, which cannot be done in one year. That would force the district to do massive layoffs and program cuts.
This must be a long term plan. However, not giving raises to staff could result in the current staff seeking employment elsewhere, therefore resulting in an immediate disservice to the education of Clintonville students, they said.
Kuhn’s final comments were directed at elected officials.
“The final variable is our elected legislators. Rural school taxpayers cannot afford operating referendums, therefore we must rely on the per pupil formula aid that provides a dollar amount for every student. We need legislators to understand that rural districts are struggling, and we need financial support. We need to lobby for increased funding, more grant opportunities, an increase to per pupil aid, a less strenuous teacher education licensing system, and tuition reimbursements for future educators,” Kuhn said.
This summer, Kuhn and Norder plan to meet with local and state legislators to lobby for not just Clintonville, but for all schools across the state of Wisconsin.