School district leaders approve $135M contract that includes teacher pay raises

For the past six months, angry teachers have harangued the Clark County School Board for adopting pay freezes in an attempt to fill a nearly $70 million budget deficit.

That anger, which reached a fever pitch following a rushed overhaul of the crumbling Teachers Health Trust, may subside after Clark County School District leaders granted their blessing to a new $135.5 million contract that includes pay raises for all 18,000 educators who work across the county.

Still, some veteran teachers expressed dissatisfaction with the costly package, which boosts the starting salary for teachers from $34,637 to $40,900.

District officials have praised that 18 percent hike as an opportunity to make Southern Nevada schools competitive in recruiting new teachers from across the country.

Since the teachers union ratified the new contract in December, new and beginning teachers have remained eager to bank a one-time boost in their Feb. 25 paychecks to reflect retroactive pay raises for the beginning of the current school year.

Three additional salary bumps will kick in over the next nine months, as the maximum salary offered to teachers jumps from $72,331 to $90,877.

Longtime educators, however, have criticized a provision of the contract that requires teachers to complete nearly 700 off-the-clock hours of professional development before they earn raises in the future.

"It's not perfect yet. I know that," District B Trustee Chris Garvey said. "We are trying to move (and) be strategic and supportive and recognize and appreciate and value our teachers."

To afford the wage hikes, district officials plan to cut $11.5 million from a deferred maintenance budget and $6 million from a human resources and payroll management system. Additional savings will come from employee attrition, and most revenue gains from the state's per-pupil funding and local property tax collections will go directly toward paying for the new contract, according to the district.

Sylvia Lazos, policy director for the education reform group Educate Nevada Now, congratulated Superintendent Pat Skorkowsky and the teachers union for completing a new contract after months of negotiations.

"There is much to commend about the agreement, particularly the ($40,000) starting salary and recognizing at last that not all teachers are widgets," Lazos said.

But she also highlighted the lack of contract provisions to train teachers how to work more effectively with English language learners and address the "inequity" of classroom vacancies in at-risk schools.

Before the board vote, Skorkowsky addressed her concerns and noted the new system tying future raises to professional development allows teachers to collect higher pay earlier than their peers if they commit to working in at-risk schools.

"(We) have really made a difference in the way that we will move forward as educators," he said.

Contact Neal Morton at nmorton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Find him on Twitter: @nealtmorton