School Board approves administrator raise

Talk about it

Dickinson Public School Board members approved a two-year agreement to increase administrators’ base salaries 5.45 percent next year and 2.92 percent the following year during a special meeting at the Central Administration office Tuesday evening.

Administrators’ base salaries will increase to $45,070 for the 2011-12 contract year and $46,388 ending in 2013.

From the base salary, money is added to administrators’ paychecks based on years of experience and education.

The average DPS administrative salary is $91,314 and the increase will provide an average pay raise of more than $1,700 a year for each administrator, according to a previous Press article.

School Board collaborative bargaining team member Jason Hanson said the increase is “by no means on the high side” compared to raises from previous years.

However, the increase was met with some concern from community members asking “what has changed to warrant the increase?” School Board member Leslie Ross said.

School Board president Kris Fehr said she has been on the negotiation committee for several years and that administrators are being asked to do more than ever and that this was a good deal.

“In considering the extra work, duties and responsibilities we have expected from our administrators the past year and the coming year to bring the district to where we need to be, the pay raise is not out of line,” Fehr said, adding that administrators will have extra work leading the implementation of the professional learning model, common core standards and new teaching methods and strategies.

Board member Mort Krieg said he was appreciative of the administrators’ work and that the increase would help the district “stay

competitive.”

Fehr agreed.

“We could be looking at retirement of administrators and we need to be able to attract administrators to Dickinson,” she said.

The bargaining committee disagreed on the amount originally, but Fehr said it worked out for the best.

“This year there were a few things that needed to be discussed,” she said. “I think there were concessions made on both sides and we came to a good agreement.”

The salary increase will take effect July 1.

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