Dear Colleagues:
Many of you know the school division budget proposal for 2015-16 includes a 2.3 percent pay for performance salary increase for classified staff and an average 2 percent increase for teachers, effective half-way into the new year.
In remarks to the media this week, School Board Chair Ned Gallaway spoke for all of us when he said compensation was the top priority in next year’s budget. Accordingly, the Board currently is considering additional actions to support employees. These could include a bonus of one percent of an employee’s annual pay early in the next fiscal year, followed by the January increases as previously proposed.
I also would like to share with you the decision process regarding compensation to date.
For 15 years, our Human Resources department has surveyed 26 school divisions and 27 local governments in Virginia. Included are jurisdictions in geographic proximity to Albemarle or with similar demographics. The School Board and the Board of Supervisors share the goal that teachers be paid within the top quarter of this market and classified staff to be paid at the median of the market.
This survey and a broader one, WorldatWork, are used to formulate recommendations to both Boards. This past fall, those Human Resources staff recommended an average full-year increase of two percent for teachers and three percent increase through the pay for performance program for classified staff, subject to available financial resources. While our local economy is improving, revenues are not growing fast enough to prevent our school and local government budgets from facing deficits. The School Board and Board of Supervisors faced a choice of either a smaller increase for employees for the full year or a larger increase for the second half of the year. Therefore, because of projected revenue shortfalls, the Boards directed the County Executive and me to include in our funding requests a 2 percent average raise for teachers and a 2.3 percent raise for classified staff for one-half of 2015-16.
This six-month option was determined to be more beneficial to employees since it would provide a higher base salary for both compensation and retirement plan purposes heading into 2016-17.
Currently, this six-month compensation increase will also include an increase in Board contributions for full-time employee health care premiums to $8,542 per year.
Given potential improvements in revenues at the state and local levels, our School Board is considering several options to increase compensation for 2015-16. Our Board desires to enable our compensation and benefit plans to remain competitive within our targeted markets.
It is our hope the local economy will continue to gain strength in the year ahead to allow us to increase the investments we need to make in our employees. Only through your efforts can people describe Albemarle County as one of the best places to live, be educated, and raise a family.
Regards,
Pam