The strength of any successful organization rests in its people, and the people create the heart of the organization. Our organization, Salida R-32-J School District, is keenly dependent upon its people for our success because we are in the "people-building" business. Recently our school system, like every other public school system in the state of Colorado has been struggling with declining financial support from the state level. Although much of Colorado weathered the earlier phases of the current recession, even our state- rich in resources and talented people as it may be- is impacted by the economic downturn.
As I discussed in an earlier blog, tough economic times provide opportunities to improve an organization by investing in its infrastructure. As a school system, our infrastructure is our people. Fortunately the voters in the Salida School District approved a mill levy increase this last November that will give our employers a much needed salary increase over the next three years. The timing could not have been better! With our state department of education calling for a rescission of state funds for the current school year and possibly beyond, not many educators in Colorado will be lucky enough to see any significant increase in salaries or benefits.
During the preparations leading up to the bond election, the administration and the Board laid out a goal of trying to reach a salary level for teachers that equalled the state average. Of course the joke (which was not funny then nor now) was that we (R-32-J) would never reach the average because the other districts would be increasing their salaries as well. As it turns out (at least for now), this might not be the case. We might actually gain ground relative to the average more than we had hoped. If so, our salaries for our teachers will still be lower than they should be for the work they do.
Along with increasing salaries, we said that we would increase the number of instructional days to also get closer to what we believed the state average was at that time. Since the state of Colorado does not set a required minimum number of days of instruction, it is difficult to get a good measure of the appropriate number. The state does, however, mandate the minimum number of hours of student instructional contact per school year. Since our district was near that minimum, we told our public that we would increase that time. Last month, our Board followed through on that promise by approving a calendar for the 2009-2010 school year that included two additional student contact days and increased the sanctioned number of minutes of instruction per school day at the high school. Although we are uncertain where this puts us in comparison to some state average, we do know that we increased what our Board defines as "instructional contact time" by the equivalence of about 6.5 days of instruction (based on a seven-hour school day). We believe that our students will benefit from this additional time of engagement in learning with our teachers.
In all this talk about minutes and hours of instruction, let us not lose sight of the many untold hours that good teachers put in preparing lessons, assessing student progress, and conferencing with students and parents. Some calucations I have seen would put the teachers' compensation per hour, when considering all of these factors, at less than what a high school student can make baby-sitting that teacher's child while the teacher is at a training workshop.
As the Superintendent of the Salida School District and as a former classroom teacher, I acknowledge and respect the work that teachers do as they provide the best possible learning experiences for our children. In addition to the teachers, I also respect the work that every staff member does on behalf of our students. From custodians to bus drivers and everyone else, thanks for what you do for Salida R-32-J's students and our community.
Always for Children,
John P. Rouse
Superintendent
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
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