March 28, 2024

CCSD approve wage increases for 2021-22 school year

In an effort to attract and retain staff, the Creston Community School board unanimously agreed to increase wages for administrative and non-union staff for the 2021-22 school year. In motions by board member Don Gee and seconded by Terry Freeman, the board approved a 3.42% increase for non-union contracts and a $3,300 salary increase for administrative contracts. Both sets of contracts will have continued insurance benefits.

“I’m very pleased with the negotiating teams for both bargaining units for working with the district and understanding our circumstances, and being able to collaborate and work together to come to an agreement that, I think, provides a benefit for everybody,” said Deron Stender, CCSD superintendent.

CCSD has two collective bargaining units the board works with to negotiate the contracts of licensed staff, which are teachers and other positions that require a Iowa Board of Educational Examiners license. The other is classified staff, such as paraprofessionals, food services workers, custodians, administrative assistants and bus drivers.

Compensation

All classified staff received an hourly raise of $1, a 7% increase, with the exception of bus drivers, who received a jump of $5 hourly. The nearly 26.5% increase in compensation for bus drivers is due to the emergency mode the district has been operating under this school year. If there are not enough bus drivers available, licensed administrators drive buses for transportation of students under an emergency statute, which Stender said has occurred on a weekly basis.

“It’s not ideal and it’s not the way we want to operate, but sometimes that’s the only option we have available,” He said. “Administrative staff has been driving buses on an emergency bases to do what’s best for our kids.”

Stender said the percentage increase is higher for classified staff, because 2% of $40,000 is much different than 2% of $11, as an example. The compensation for bus drivers at CCSD had been the lowest in the region. A $5 increase isn’t “average,” but he said it helps the district remain competitive. Under classified staff, there are four categories of positions, and pay is dependent upon factors such as responsibilities, experience, length of contract and level of education.

Factors

The CCSD board waited until Gov. Kim Reynolds approved the education funding in the state budget Feb. 23 before it began negotiations in March.

“We don’t want to spend time in negotiations when we don’t know the revenue the state is going to provide us,” said Stender. “That can be counterproductive when we don’t know how that’s going to impact the budget.”

Stender said all wage increases came after the district’s Tier I and II studies. Tier I compares CCSD pay scale to neighboring districts. The second tier study compares CCSD to all other districts beyond adjacent districts.

“Basically all of southwest Iowa is actually in that study. We looked at and compared where does our compensation land in comparison to other school districts,” he said.

Following the studies, the district performed a community audit to examine where its compensation stands in the Creston Communty.

“Through that process, we identified that we were at the bottom, if not at the bottom in some cases,” he said.

Stender said, for taxpayers who are concerned about the compensations adjustments, he welcomes the opportunity to discuss it.

The next CCSD board meeting is 6 p.m. May 17 at the district officer, 801 N. Elm St. The meeting will be available via Zoom, with login information available online at crestonschools.org/school-board-1 and in the print edition of the Creston News Advertiser leading up to the meeting. A public hearing on the district’s amended 2021-22 budget will be held during the May 17 meeting, with open forum held shortly after the meeting opens.





SARAH  SCULL

SARAH SCULL

Sarah Scull is native of San Diego, California, now living in Creston, Iowa. She joined Creston News Advertiser's editorial staff in September 2012, where she has been the recipient of three 2020 Iowa Newspaper Association awards. She now serves as associate editor, writing for Creston News Advertiser, Creston Living and Southwest Iowa AgMag.