Pendleton County Schools Pay Scales 2013-14

As always, these are my opinions only, and not the opinions of the Pendleton County School Board or any other individual board members.

Pay scales for all Pendleton County employees were up for board approval this past Thursday May 30^th, 2013.

Classified Salary Schedule There will be debate about the size of any raises, but the pay raises were applied fairly across the entire Classified Salary Schedule.  Therefore, I voted in favor of the 2013-14 Classified Salary Schedule.

Certified Salary Schedule In my opinion, this fair pay raise was not the case with the Certified Salary Schedule.  With the exception of one portion of the scale (22-27 year Rank 1), the net result was the “evening out” of several large steps in the scale.  This allows the employee to see a step increase in almost every year of service.  The one exception to this was the 22-27 year Rank 1 pay.  In this section, I noticed roughly an average increase of 2.7%.  Gains made by this group at the expense of other employees do not meet my definition of fair and equitable treatment to all teacher employees in our district.   At my request, the board allowed me to “pull” this certified salary scale out and vote on it as a separate action item.  I considered making a motion to amend the pay scale to apply 1% to the entire pay scale.  However, in my opinion, this probably would have failed due to a lack of a second.  This opinion was based solely on the board conversation at the meeting.  My position did not carry the day, and it passed 4-1.

Other Action Items- See Board Agenda for other action items.  I voted in favor of these items.

By the way, I will attempt to update each month after every board meeting.  I am almost done with my own schooling and should be able to update more frequently in the future.

Finland Trip March 2013

I was fortunate to meet Pasi Sahlberg during my time in Finland.  I was unable to upload my presentation that I gave to the elementary schools in our district.  I hope you take the time to go to the following link.

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Trip to Finland March 2013

I presented a cookbook to the Finnish principal at the school we visited in Helsinki. The 5th grade students at Southern and Northern Elementary should be proud that their book made it clear to Finland.

Why did I vote “No” to the Superintendent’s contract?

These are my opinions only, and not the opinions of the Pendleton County School Board or any other individual board members.

The decisions we make as a board have a ripple effect at the state level.  My first concern is the impact that our decision will have on the state’s teacher retirement fund.  Boosting the superintendent’s pay to maximize monthly pension benefits would be a very nice gesture to our Superintendent.  This gesture, however, comes with a price.  The teacher’s retirement fund is already underfunded.  If all 176 Kentucky school districts did the same gesture, it would certainly accelerate the death (insolvency) of the Kentucky Teacher’s Retirement System Fund. 

In my opinion, our Superintendent is already well compensated.  The total cost of his pay and benefit package of this new contract will make it a “statistical outlier” relative to the Superintendent’s peer group in comparable districts.

My number one priority as a board member is fiscal responsibility while being fair to all employee groups in the district.  An analogy best explains my point here. 

I have three sons.  As a mother, it is extremely important that I treat each of them fairly.  If I didn’t, it would create family conflict and ultimately, they would not trust me.  This would hold true if I were constantly buying things for myself while my boys got nothing.  I think of the school district as a family.  When teachers see the quality of their working conditions eroded (student-teacher ratio, etc.), it leads to a lack of trust.  This is especially true when other members of the family have not learned to get by with less as well.  It also does not set well when a mother is wearing diamonds and a fur coat, while her children go to school in jeans with holes in them and not wearing a coat at all.  It isn’t that I don’t want the “mother” to have nice things; I just want her to balance her needs against the needs of the “family” budget.
 

If you wish to contact me to discuss this or any other issue, please contact me at 859-472-2799.

January 5th- Independent Thinker

My 89 year grandmother, Helen Porter,  was unable to make my swearing in ceremony on January 3rd because she fell on ice and broke her ankle on New Year's Eve.  We celebrated in her hospital room at St. Elizabeth.  My grandmother has given me excellent advice over the years.  She used to say "Shawn, if you think like everyone else, then you are not thinking."  I promise to honor her by always thinking critically and remaining an independent thinker throughout this term.

Swearing in on January 3, 2013

Thanks to my family for their love and support.  I am looking forward to representing the people of District 3 on the Pendleton County School Board.  I was thrilled to be sworn in with Tony Spence and by Mike Redden for the three of us were 1985 graduates from Pendleton County High School.