Now that Morgan Hill educators received a substantial raise
local teacher salaries once again are lower than the neighbors to
the north
Gilroy – When Michelle Nelson read about the hefty pay raise Morgan Hill teachers settled on last week, the Gilroy Teachers’ Association president immediately took action.
“My initial reaction was to e-mail the article to the (Gilroy Unified School District) board,” she said. “That was the first thing I did.”
That the Morgan Hill Unified School board approved a 5.5 percent raise for the group of educators north of here is significant to Gilroy teachers who have complained about their relatively low wages for years. The district has made a concerted effort for the past five years to push up GUSD’s salaries, aligning them more closely to comparable school districts in the area.
Before approval of the raise, at $40,017, Gilroy’s beginning teachers were making more than new educators starting up in Morgan Hill who pulled down an entry level paycheck of $38,880. But Gilroy’s salary superiority ended at the beginning teacher level.
Local teachers made less as the years wore on, with veteran teachers earning a maximum of $74,889, while up in Morgan Hill, the most experienced teachers earned $75,741. And now, with the recent raise, MHUSD teachers are once again clearing more from beginning to end.
Entry level Morgan Hill educators now earn $41,018 and those at the top, take home $79,907. The GTA plans to use the raise to its advantage, to point out during negotiations that its beef with GUSD pay is valid.
“It’s always been our contention that we’re low in Gilroy and we did have the data to back it up,” Nelson said.
The union decided to take a break and delay the onset of negotiations until this month and Nelson said she’s glad that decision was made since other districts have already settled 2006-07.
When negotiations begin on Oct. 19, Marci Connal hopes the GTA will also be able to successfully negotiate a raise similar to the one granted in Morgan Hill. That was the longtime educator’s reaction when she learned of the salary increase.
In addition, Connal, a South Valley Middle School teacher, would like to see benefits improved.
“I already thought we were down and I think we just need to move up with the rest of everybody,” she said.
Eleven teachers, half of Gilroy High School’s English department, didn’t return to the school this year for various reasons. Some moved to another district for the higher pay and for some it was a combination of factors, that pay is better elsewhere, literacy rates are superior and student motivation is higher.
Some teachers have left because cost of living is the same in other cities but salaries are better.
“So, in essence it comes down to money,” Nelson said.
And Connal said the main concern surrounding the cash issue isn’t how much longtime teachers are making because the men and women who have been in one district for 20-plus years can’t afford to move and take a pay cut for changing districts. Teachers who are just starting out or who have taught for five years or so, those are the ones GUSD will lose if it doesn’t shape up its act.
“If we don’t have higher wages we won’t attract teachers,” Connal said. “We need to get people (who) want to stay.”
