Large pay increases for senior teachers shouldn’t result in cuts to colleagues
The “sign of the beast” is again rearing its ugly head in Illinois’ Cary District 26.
Contract negotiations between the teachers union and school board have dragged over compensation issues, including the infamous “6-6-6” salary format that awards senior teachers annual six percent raises as they near retirement.
This week, school board members announced their intention to impose their last best contract offer, which will require younger teachers to take a 7 percent pay cut but provide veteran teachers with a 6 percent raise. Overall salaries would decrease by 1.7, according to the Northwest Herald.
We believe that young teachers are getting a raw deal.
Recent media reports have revealed that teachers in Cary District 26 have been receiving whopping six percent raises in each of their last four years before retirement, followed by $20,000 bonuses upon retirement, based on the provisions of previous contracts.
The evil scheme is clearly designed to increase pension checks for retired teachers, whose retirement payouts are generally based on their rate of pay during their last few years of employment.
The district’s last best contract offer, imposed due to gridlock in negotiations with the teachers union, apparently preserves the pension-padding tradition at the expense of taxpayers and less experienced teachers.
EAG is very familiar with the financial plight of struggling school districts, and we champion efforts to reign in sky-high labor costs. The overall salary reduction and other concessions will undoubtedly give Cary schools some financial security, but preserving the so-called 6-6-6 system is unfair and absurd.
If district officials are truly concerned with righting the district’s financial ship, an approach that freezes the salaries of all educators, or one that bases any salary increases on effectiveness in the classroom, would make far more sense.
We recommend ditching the evil retirement padding scheme entirely, and urge district officials to take a more common-sense and fair approach to employee compensation.
