Submitted by Denair Unified School District
Denair Unified School District trustees approved 1% salary raises for all employees Thursday night, the first step in what they hope will be additional moves to restore across-the-board pay cuts imposed three years ago.
Even as trustees passed the motion 4-0 (board member Ray Prock Jr. was absent), they acknowledged that would like to do more as financial conditions improve.
“I look at this as we’re finally able to give something back,” Trustee Robert Hodges said. “This is a good-faith effort that we’re going to (restore salaries) as soon as possible.”
Salaries for every Denair employee were reduced by 8% in 2013 as one part of an effort to bring the district’s expenses and revenue into alignment. The lingering effects of the recession and declining enrollment combined to push the district into financial crisis, which required a short-term loan from the Stanislaus County Office of Education and intervention by the state.
Those dark days are well in the past now, district officials stressed Thursday, but enrollment remains an issue. Denair Elementary Charter Academy and Denair Charter Academy have consistently added students, but that growth has been offset by continued declines at Denair High School.
Enrollment provides the biggest chunk of income for any district in California, with the state paying about $8,000 per student per year based on what is known as Average Daily Attendance. In Denair, ADA has fallen the past five years from 1,535 students to 1,275.
“Our major goal is to not just restore salaries to where they were, but to go beyond,” Superintendent Aaron Rosander said. “We want our employees to have the salaries that they rightfully deserve.”
The pay raises take effect July 1 for the 2016-17 school year. Collectively, they will add $98,499 to the district’s budget next year.
The district remains in contract negotiations with the two bargaining units representing its 60 teachers and 63 classified staff. Continue reading “Denair Unified Trustees Thank Staff for Patience, Approve 1% Salary Increases for All Employees” »
