School board votes to raise OISD pay by 5 percent

The Olney Independent School District Board of Trustees approved an overall 5 percent pay increase for teachers and other school employees after school superintendent Dr. Greg Roach described the district’s difficulty in hiring in the midst of high inflation and low unemployment.

The Consumer Price Index increased 8.5 percent for the year ended March 2022, following a rise of 7.9 percent from February 2021 to February 2022. The 8.5-percent increase in March was the largest 12-month advance since December 1981, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median pay for a U.S. high school teacher in 2021 was $61,820 per year, the Bureau’s data showed.

“Teachers are earning four percent less than what they were earning in 2010 – earning power-wise - because of inflation,” Dr. Roach said. “We can’t find teachers.”

Dr. Roach, OISD Chief Financial Officer Tim Orsak and HR Director Jeanie Walker walked the trustees through the school district’s pay scales during the May 23 meeting, making the case for raising pay for the next two budget years to attract teachers, substitute teachers, bus drivers, and other workers. Dr. Roach said the district’s goal was to eventually pay all at-will employees a minimum wage of $15 per hour.

“I wanted it reasonable, manageable and I wanted our teachers to have more money,” Roach said. “We cannot beg substitute teachers… we cannot beg a bus driver. If I don’t have bus drivers we cannot do the routes. I’m going to have to shut that down.”

Trustees questioned whether the district could sustain the higher pay levels if it lost students and because federal COVID relief from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) is set to expire in 2023-24.

“I believe it is possible,” Orsak told the board. “We are on a little uptick. We believe we can maintain current staffing levels barring a substantial drop in student enrollment.”

The 5 percent overall increase will cost $375,000, Dr. Roach said. This means that wages will account for approximately 75 percent of the school district’s budget - above his target of 70 percent, Dr. Roach said.

“I appreciate you being aggressive in raising wages. I think it’s important,” Board of Trustee president Jake Bailey told Dr. Roach.

The board also approved retention stipends of $1,000 for teachers who signed their contracts or letters as of May 25.