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Stafford County teachers to receive retroactive step increases this year Date published: 4/27/2010
BY JEFF BRANSCOME
Stafford County teachers and other school employees will receive a step increase this year that will cover April 1 through June 30, the School Board decided yesterday. And this time the vote is final. Board members unanimously agreed to retroactively implement the average 2.5 percent raise, which they originally approved in December. The 184 school employees at the top of their pay scales--who aren't eligible for a step increase--will receive $1,000 stipends for the fiscal year that ends June 30, based on the School Board's vote yesterday. Supervisors provided about $1 million for the raises late last year after the county discovered a $6.2 million surplus. About $850,000 of the money will fund the step increase, which is based on years of experience, for a little more than 3,000 employees. The rest will be for the one-time stipends. The School Board in March voted to hold off on the step raise until it had more information on the 2010-11 budget. It voted twice this month to continue to hold in abeyance the money for the increase--most recently last Wednesday. School Superintendent David Sawyer recommended at a work session last Friday that the division retroactively implement the step increase and continue to fund it in 2010-11 at a cost of $3.4 million. "Certainly, we're relieved that they finally made a decision," said Jannette Martin, president of the Stafford Education Association. "And I think it's the right decision." She said she's pleased employees at the top of their pay scales also will receive additional compensation, even though the stipend doesn't count toward retirement. School Board Chairwoman Dana Reinboldt said she didn't want to "go out on a limb" and speculate whether the step raise will continue for the fiscal year that begins July 1. "We will see," she said. She said she thinks the step raise will make Stafford more competitive with school systems to the south, including Spotsylvania County. The School Board has not set a date to approve its final 2010-11 spending plan. The division is receiving almost $6 million less from county supervisors than it requested.
some counties are very poor and cannot afford as much as
rich counties. Many are in the middle. But the bottom line
is - you cannot spend more than you can afford and the
state data shows that Stafford spend more for education on
a per capita basis more than most counties except the rich
ones in NoVa.
So you have to make choices on the money you have and
hope that the people who live here will prosper and be
able to pay more.
The question remains. How much do you think Stafford
taxpayers can afford/
that's not the situation. The State Auditor REQUIRES
standardized reporting form the localities.
If you look at the link provided
http://www.apa.state.va.us/data/download/local_governmen
t/comparative_cost/Amended%20Cost%2009.xls
" 2009 Comparative Report of Local Government"
you'll see that. The "you can't compare" is the excuse that
people and counties and school systems use when they
don't want to be held accountable for their budget actions.
The reality is that each county can only afford so much
...the other Stafford County employees? Will they also receive a "step raise"? Some county employees are way overdue for a step increase. Romanello......Are you listening? Hello......Antony.......Hello??
Any occupation can be standardized. First you define what is expected to be done. Then slice that into individual functions, measure how much time each unit of work takes, measure how many units accomplished in a given amount of time, establish methods to measure, report and audit. Then define how many units per hour, day etc are accomplished versus the expected number and you have a result. Since each job is different, the details are too but the methodology is the same. They key is measure and report.
Standardized testing, as I understand it, does not distinguish between test takers with a history of doing well and those that have been moved up each year without understanding what they supposedly learned the previous year. So the A student takes the same standardized tests as the D student?
As you can see I am not at all familiar with the reality of herding kids up and out. But it seems as if these standardized tests would make things worse overall for the students and the teachers. You need help!
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