Western Placer employees get raises
In a time when most school districts across the state are suffering financially, Western Placer Unified School District employees have something to smile about – raises. Teachers received a 3-percent raise when the district’s budget was passed June 21 and the Board of Trustees enacted raises for the other employees Tuesday night. Those raises take effect this school year and affect every one of the district’s approximately 600 employees. “We’re really in a very fortunate position and I think everyone deserves to be compensated and have that increase,” said Board Member Ana Stevenson. Other board members echoed her sentiments. “This is the goal we’ve had for a while and we’ve finally got the opportunity to do it,” said Board Member Brian Haley. The goal Haley referred to was what the district has been working at off and on since 2007 – to bring all employees’ salaries to the average in the county. According to Superintendent Scott Leaman, the minimum raise was 3 percent and the maximum raise was 8 percent. Additionally, according to Leaman, the amount of money the district pays for benefits went up about 6 percent – keeping the employee contributions the same. Board President Paul Carras said the raises are well-deserved and help Western Placer Unified School District attract and retain qualified employees. According to the district’s analysis, conducted with current public information on other districts’ salaries, Western Placer’s teachers are already comparatively well-paid – in the top 20 percent in the county. Administrators – including principals – however, were in the bottom 3 percent, comparatively. That means it was a common scenario over the past two or three years to have a teacher who, in being promoted to principal, would actually be taking a per-hour pay cut. Leaman’s salary also fell well below the average, according to Carras, and the board voted to extend his contract at least one more year and included a 6.5 percent raise. The raise brings Leaman’s salary to $158,442. Due to financial troubles in years past, no Western Placer employees were given raises last year, Leaman said. “We’re happy we’re in a district that is growing,” said Mike Agrippino, a teacher at Glen Edwards Middle School and president of the Western Placer Teachers Association – the teachers’ bargaining group. According to Agrippino, there is “no ill will” surrounding the raises awarded to administrators. Those raises, in total, amount to slightly more than $200,000 annually, said Terri Ryland, assistant superintendent for business and administrative services. The assistant superintendents were very close to the average salary of the compared districts and received the minimum raise of 3 percent, Leaman said. Superintendent Leaman evaluated Western Placer Superintendent Scott Leaman received his performance evaluation from the Board of Trustees Tuesday night – earning a high overall mark of 4.8 out of 5. “Last year, we didn’t give Scott (a salary) increase but his evaluation was just as good,” Stevenson said. “I think it’s important to know that the salary increase didn’t happen last time because we were in a different financial place.” Stevenson added that Leaman is “most deserving” of the contract extension that came with his evaluation, as well as the accompanying 6.5 percent pay raise that brings his salary to $158,442. Haley said the raise brings Leaman to the average level in the county. “You richly deserve it, Scott,” Haley added. Each board member independently evaluated Leaman’s performance to keep it as fair as possible, Carras said. The results were then averaged to the final grade. Students do well on STAR testing Preliminary figures for the statewide STAR testing are back and Western Placer Unified School District’s students did very well. That’s according to assistant superintendent for educational services Mary Boyle, who added that everyone in the district is to thank for the positive news. “I am so thrilled,” Boyle said. Boyle attributed the high scores to being a cumulative effect of everything the district has implemented over the past years – including teaching to state standards, offering advanced placement classes to allow students to excel and supporting struggling students. According to figures from the California Department of Education, Western Placer Unified School District students improved 7.4 percent in English, 2.5 percent in math, 3 percent in science and 8 percent in history. The district, Boyle said, is seeing significant increases in scores, and they’re going up every year. “When you see such significant growth,” Carras said, “we may well become (a destination district). We have not faltered academically.” Carras added that the early results are yet another reason to be proud of students’ achievements, following other recent successes and awards within the district, including Twelve Bridges Middle School and Lincoln High School receiving California Distinguished School Awards earlier this year. Final results of the statewide testing are expected to be released by mid-September, Boyle said. Board OKs Mello Roos hike Development in Lincoln Crossing and Twelve Bridges will cost a little more, following the board’s approval of 6 percent raises to Mello Roos. Those raises, according to Ryland, are linked to construction cost figures in a formula agreed upon by voters when they were initiated. “By law, we cannot use that money for salaries,” Ryland said. The increase amounts to 33 cents per square foot in Twelve Bridges – bringing to total to $5.90 – and less than three cents per square foot in Lincoln Crossing – bringing to total to 38.9 cents per square foot. Those figures change and builders expect them to drop off again next year. “This will probably be the last year that goes up,” said Bill Mellerup, a board member of California Building Industry Association. “The fees tend to lag behind construction costs. We’ll see them go down next year.” Mellerup added that the fee will “work itself out” and is “not going to be that big of a deal.” He further complimented the school district, saying it is "doing a good job." All of the money from the Mello Roos taxes goes directly into the school district’s facilities fund to build new schools and maintain or upgrade existing schools, Ryland said. Brandon Darnell can be reached by e-mail at brandond@goldcountrymedia.com.
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Well that's just great, maybe the schools can do a better job teaching our kids, now that they are getting a raise
>>, I think our teachers are doing a fine job with what they are given. I am glad to see the teachers getting a well deserved raise. Teaching our children is not just the teachers' job, but the responsibility of parents as well. I praise the teachers of the district for all their work and dedication. I have seen first hand teachers struggling to get simple needed supplies for teaching in the classroom. Teachers try their hardest, but with budget cuts, they can only do so much.
I'm happy to see the teachers get a WELL DESERVED raise. But to say they are doling out races to keep employees, I find a bit laughable. In this age of lay-offs and overall job instability, I can't imagine ANYONE voluntarily LEAVING a school district position.
The people in WPUSD do a fantastic job "teaching our kids"!!! Dedicated, caring people who do all they can for your children. What do YOU do for their education SgtMom???
Dear Indit.yndi,
Why do you want to be contentious? Here are the facts.... Lincoln High School API grade is 741 with the state average being 710. Looks good on the surface...right, however take a look at other high schools in Placer County. Granite Bay has a grade of 837, Rocklin 832, and Whitney 810. Don't forget about Phoenix High School because they have earned the score of 478. I don't care how you look at it, WPUSD is a failure. When they can compete with Granite Bay and Rocklin I will shut up. Since my husband & I both work to pay our tax burden, we have to spend our evenings re-educating our kids. By the way, what is your affiliation with the failed WPUSD?
Sgt Mom, have you looked at the socio economic breakdown in those schools? According the greatschools.com, there is a large disparity socioeconomically (looking at free/reduced lunch stats). That plays a huge part....not always, but very often, poorer families = less parent involvement, students having to work to help provide for the family, school not a priority, etc. Sounds like you are definitely doing your part as a parent.....we all SHOULD. But, the truth is some parents DO NOT participate in their children's education (the kids are the school's "problem" from 8-3)....and that can and will show up in state testing and over all achievement. Sad, but true. I hate to see teachers used as a punching bag repeatedly when there are other factors at play.
Thanks for breaking it down larrymullenjr to where most people can understand what exactly is going on. As we all know, some will always want to come out ahead of the rest. Someone will have to be at the end of the line, and it's us. It doen't mean our kids will be any less of an achiever, every child is unique and will learn differently than others. I'm a parent of a student who needed extra help two years ago and the school my child attended stepped up with an after school program to help. My child isn't in the top 10 of academics, but I am pleased to have WPUSD giving their best.
I personally attended all schools in Lincoln starting with CCC, Glen Edwards and then Lincoln High School. I like to think I'm successful and have done very well for myself after graduating from WPUSD.......
Scio-Economic reasoning for failure is just that, a failure. I work in corporate America and everybody is evaluated based on performance that is observable and measurable. I don’t mind teachers getting a pay raises, however the pay raise should be performance based. I don’t think any teacher or administrator should get a pay raise until the school has a minimum API score of 850, including alternative schools.
There was an article in the SACBEE on 17 August 2009 “Money doesn’t give the whole picture in evaluation schools”. This article cites how the Elk Groove school district does a better job educating with less money on a per student basis. Every school principle should be looking at what programs work in those schools and incorporate the lessons learned in their own school.
Furthermore, California Schools used to be the envy of the country; we are now the laughing stock of the nation. How can California schools regain national greatness? First, eliminate college degree programs for Education in all public California Universities. All teachers should have a degree in English, Math, Science, History, or Engineering. The teacher certification should be separate. Second, eliminate district boundaries and place all the responsibility on school principles for performance and negotiating teacher pay. Teachers should be paid solely on performance and not tenured. Parents should be able to enroll their kids in the schools of their choice (those that are performing), assuming the kids meet the entrance requirements for the school. Schools that are succeeding get rewarded while the failing schools close. Second, High School students should not be awarded a diploma unless the score a minimum of 950 combined math and English on the SAT, or equivalent. Additionally, every student is required to take math up to Algebra II/Trig, chemistry or physics, economics, and History (emphasizing the greatness of our Founding Fathers and American Exceptionalism). Third, permanent expulsion of any student that is disruptive, a gang member, or arrested (not not necessary convicted) for any felony. Counties do run schools for Juvenile delinquents; let them gg there or let them attend trade schools.
Wow, Hank, you really have all the answers. You conveniently gloss over the reality of socio-economic status having a tremendous impact on test scores with your empty rhetorical platitiude--do you really think that a student who comes from a home where neither parent has a high school diploma and is living under the poverty line has the same chance at passing a standardized test as a student who is the child of two college graduates making six figures a year? It must be nice to live in such a bubble of ignorance. Excellent education BEGINS AT HOME, HANK!!!!! And of course Elk Grove can educate kids at a rate of less money per student; they are the largest school district in the area-just like when I go to Costco to buy larger quantities of product at a cheaper price per individual item, with a district as big as Elk Grove, you can negotiate cheaper prices for goods because of the extreme quantity of business you bring with you. Please spare us your superficial, flawed reasoning.
Dear Zebra Fan,
Your condescending and contentious attitude is an indication that I’m right on target. In our great country there is no excuse for the failure of the public school system. The difference between us is that my employer expects me to continuously produced excellence; you and your employer find reasons for failure. Your job as a teacher, just like everybody in the private sector, is to find ways to motivate their co-workers and subordinates towards excellence. You are not doing your students any favors by looking the other way at, or excusing, failure because in the “real world’ there are no excuses. BTW…I am also Zebra fan, only with higher expectations.
My condescending attitude? Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black"! All students must pass trigonometry? If a student is arrested, but not found guilty, they should be expelled? What happened to innocent until PROVEN guilty? Your way of getting higher test scores is to eliminate education for any student that is disruptive-well, that would certainly raise test scores, but you would be denying education to a lot of students. In the business world, you get to choose who works for you. In the school world, we must educate ALL who come. Again, you conveniently ignore the reality, and have no actual solutions, only complaints. Yes, my message is a little contentious, as I hate to see people judge LHS based solely on a test score. (A test score which has risen more than 150 points in the last 8 years, for what that's worth). Have you ever visisted the award winning school farm, where students actually raise fish from fingerlings to releasing them in the wild? Do you think a state test score measures how much a student learned in that kind of project??? As for expectations at Lincoln High School, I'll be sure to discuss them with two recent collge graduates (one from Stanford, one from UC Santa Barbara) who are both going on to grad. school and who want to share with this year's seniors how well LHS prepared them. You can tell a lot more about a school from talking to its graduates then by looking at a standardized test score number, Hank-you should try it some time.