Board approves 3.12% raises for Washington teachers, staff

Faculty and support staff in the Washington school district will be getting raises in the 2021-22 school year.

The Washington school board approved the raises at Monday night's special school board meeting.

The raise for certified staff includes a 'step and lane movement” and a $200 increase on the base salary schedule for the 2021-22 school year. The overall compensation package will increase by 3.12 percent.

Superintendent Willie Stone explained that much of the increase in the overall package is due to a 9.15 percent increase in health insurance rates, which the district pays for its employees.

'The wage increase isn't very high because of the insurance rate,” Stone said. 'Last year, it was $250 (base increase) and (overall) 2.6 percent, because insurance was lower.”

He said that the Washington Education Association, which negotiates teacher contracts with the district, understood the situation with the increase in insurance rates.

'We talked specifically with the negotiating team, and all were comfortable,” Stone said.

The agreement calls for the 2022-23 base wage to be negotiated.

Support staff will get a base increase of $1 per hour, an overall increase of 7.01 percent.

Stone said that the large increase for support staff was necessary.

'We're getting to the point where we're having trouble getting people to apply for our positions,” he said. 'We are really struggling to find staff.”

He said it is important to pay enough to keep valued employees from leaving.

'We are low in comparison to other districts,” Stone said. 'In our community, we're not paying a wage high enough in comparison to other employers.”

'We definitely need to be competitive,” board President Eric Turner said.