A Compensation Study Committee convened by the Prince William County School Board June 19 at the School Board meeting recommended that there be no major changes to the current employee compensation structure.
“I think I can speak for this committee when I say, what we have in place, what we have in Prince William County Schools, is a very solid framework,” said Committee Chairman, former Associate Superintendent Wayne Mallard.
On May 16, 2012, the School Board requested a committee be formed to review the compensation structure in place at Prince William County Schools. The committee was largely a response to what the Board found to be confusion on the part of employees regarding the salary step system during the previous budget cycle.
While the committee could have considered changing the system of compensation for certified and classified employees, by and large, the committee of 64 stakeholders decided to simply recommend small adjustments to the current system.
The following were the committee's recommendations:
The stakeholders included teachers and administrators from varied grade levels, classified staff members, central office personnel and parents. These committee members met four times throughout the year.
During each session, committee members examined the Prince William County Schools' current compensation system as well as systems in neighboring districts.
Coles District Board Member Dr. Michael Otaigbe said one reason for the creation of the committee was to ensure that teachers would not leave for neighboring districts that might offer better compensation.
Associate Superintendent for Human Resources Keith Johnson told the School Board that their annual turnover is just 9 percent of staff, which falls below the Division’s stated retention goal of 12 percent and far below the national average of 16.8 percent.
"I think that’s an important statistic," Chairman at-Large Milt Johns said.
Mallard agreed, saying, “That’s a good flag to fly.”
In terms of making changes to the current system, the School Board members were in agreement that the website presentation should be updated to become more "user-friendly."
“For me," said Occoquan District Board Member Lillie Jessie, "Number one, when we talk about this transparent and user-friendly format, I often say I don’ thave the scheduling gene; but I’m not sure I have the gene to really understand how this whole schedule works."
Jessie remarked that while Associate Superintendent of Finance and Planning David Cline said he understands the current system, she believes that others, like herself, who are less mathematically-inclined, might find it confusing.
“I think it’s very important for teachers to understand where they are on the scale and how they were placed there," Jessie said.
Johnson agreed to work with the IT Department to provide a better format on the Prince William County Schools' website for new-hires and current employees wanting to understand the salary structure.
“(This will be) a world-class presentation," said Johnson. "When new-hires come to visit our website, we will look just as good—even better, than some of the neighboring school systems," Johnson said.
However, the School Board was less receptive to the suggestion that classified employees be compensated upon furthering their education.
According to Johnson, those employees already become eligible to move to more senior and better-paying positions. He said in no other large school divisions in Virginia do they receive a bonus or enter onto a different pay scale.
Jessie inquired as to how teachers who receive more education, but do not want to become administrators, could be recognized and utilized beyond monetary compensation.
“There are some exceptional teachers, and some of them will get the Masters plus 15, but do not necessarily want to become an administrator. Hopefully, we will have some internal structure so that these people can move up the ladder and perhaps be compensated in some way," Jessie said.
Chairman Johns also asked Jim Livingston, President of the Prince William Education Association, to comment.
“We do have a solid framework, but there are some areas in which we believe some improvements can be made," said Livingston, who said he believes more time would be necessary for a committee to delve into those issues.
Mallard agreed that there were additional issues that could be examined should his committee have more time.
"I don’t think this committee answered every question, addressed every issue. This committee could have had a long life,” he said.
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