Reading and hearing accounts of the negotiations between the Clark County School District (CCSD) and CCEA on the teachers’ contract, it is clear that there have been misunderstandings, and possible misrepresentations, regarding CCSD’s contract proposals. We want to take this opportunity to set the record straight.
CCSD has never rejected the use of SB 231 funds for supplemental pay increases for teachers. In fact, we have repeatedly proposed using SB 231 for supplemental pay increases and working with CCEA to decide how to apply the SB 231 funds. What remains in question is whether the Legislature will provide CCSD with the funds to continue those increases past June 30, 2025. To address this concern, CCSD proposed to CCEA virtually the same language that was agreed to by the teachers in the Carson City School District and elsewhere.
CCSD never refused to provide across-the-board pay increases to the teachers. We have offered 8.5% salary increases in the first year and 2% salary increases in the second year. Additionally, all eligible employees would receive step movement in both years of the contract. We recognize this is less than the 10% first-year and 2% second-year increases agreed to with CCASPE. So why the 1.5% difference in the first year? It all comes down to fairness and equity.
Since the current Professional Salary Scale went into effect in August 2016, a significant number of teachers were placed in experience steps and education columns that did not align with their actual years of service and education. This has resulted, for example, in teachers with 10 years of experience being on the lowest levels of the pay scale. We firmly believe that these inequities must be corrected in this contract for the good of the organization and our students and to address teacher retention. Historic opportunities require historic remedies. With this historic opportunity, we must right a wrong that has persisted too long.
Applying the additional monies to realign teachers hired after August 2016 based on their years of service and education, over 3,300 employees currently on the lowest pay scale of $49,175 would be eligible for pay adjustments as follows:
1,280 employees will be eligible for a 1 to 9.99% increase
- 780 employees will be eligible for a 10 to 19.99% increase
- 1,110 employees will be eligible for a 20% or more increase
- 870 educators within this group have a Master’s degree and would move from $49,175 to at least $65,449 (33% increase), and could move more with more years of experience
420 employees with 8 years of experience or more would move from $49,175 to at least $63,938 (30%), and with an advanced degree in their field of teaching, could move even more.
As to employees currently above the lowest pay scale of $49,175 under CCSD’s proposal:
- An estimated 5,700 employees would be eligible for a pay increase/correction, with an estimated 2,650 of those evaluated being eligible for an increase/correction of over $10,000.
- Over 3,300 employees who have a Master’s degree would be eligible for additional compensation. It is estimated that 2,100 employees would receive a 20% increase in pay, while over 500 would receive a 10-19% increase in pay.
CCSD’s new proposed starting salary would be $53,354 with a proposed top salary of $116,851.
We hope that CCEA would recognize how important and meaningful these increases are to the currently misaligned employees.
In addition to the above, CCSD has proposed to increase the pay for coaches and club advisors and the rate of extra pay for instructional services from $31.50 to the actual contract daily rate of pay.
The District will also contribute an additional approximately $14 million in contributions to the Teachers Health Trust in 2023-2024 and an additional approximately $7.7 million in 2024-2025. To address vacancy levels in our most critical areas, CCSD is offering differentiated pay of one-column movement for autism and self-contained special education teachers and teachers working in “hard to fill” schools. The definition of “hard to fill” schools is under negotiation. Each column move is roughly a $6,000 pay increase.
We look forward to continuing our negotiations on behalf of our hardworking teachers at the negotiation table in the coming weeks.
Click here to access the proposed salary schedule for fiscal year 2024.
