Increase is largest educators have received in six years
Morgan Hill – Morgan Hill Unified School District’s more than 400 teachers will receive a 5.5 percent salary increase this year.
The increase, approved unanimously by trustees Sept. 12, represents the largest single salary increase for the teachers in the last six years.
Under the agreement, a first-year teacher’s salary will jump from $38,880 to $41,018, an increase of $2,138.
A 10-year teacher’s salary will also increase from $57,551 to $60,716 a year, an increase of $3,165. The most veteran teacher on the salary schedule, with at least 30 years in the classroom, will also see an increase from $75,741 to $79,907 a year, an increase of $4,166.
Teachers with master’s degrees will also earn an additional $1,000 per year; while those with a doctorate will earn an additional $1,500.
In Gilroy, where a recent increase in teacher salaries put them above the district to the north, the raise once again makes the average Gilroy Unified School District paycheck less than MHUSD. Teachers on the bottom of the GUSD salary schedule make $40, 017 and the top salary is $74,889.
MHUSD board members ratified an agreement between the district and the Morgan Hill Federation of Teachers that included the raise, staff development and number of workdays.
Teachers who participated in the voting “overwhelmingly” ratified the 2006-07 school year agreement, according to MHFT President Donna Foster.
“We’re not just talking about giving teachers a raise; this works all the way around,” Board of Education President Mike Hickey said. “This is not a one-sided agreement. Everybody gains on this one.”
Hickey said the agreement ties in with the board’s recently-approved goals for the year; specifically, respecting, valuing and supporting employees and offering opportunities for employee professional growth.
Superintendent Alan Nishino, who makes more than $212,000 a year, said he was pleased with the negotiated agreement.
“This emphasizes the importance of staff development,” he said. “We have not provided our teachers with the resources and tools to help them do what the state requires us to do.”
The agreement gives teachers one additional staff development day this year, spread out into two-hour increments, and the opportunity to receive another 1 percent salary increase next year for two additional staff development days, if negotiations are completed before the end of August 2007. The change would raise the number of days worked from 183 to 186.
The raise comes after two years with no increases, during severe district budget cuts, and two years of meager increases.
“Our staff didn’t take an increase in pay when times were tough … This should be such a wonderful celebration,” said trustee Kathy Sullivan.
“I wasn’t (on the board) during the tough times, and I’m particularly pleased to be here during the good times,” Trustee Don Moody said. “You work as hard as any other teachers I’ve ever met and certainly deserve to be paid a competitive wage.”
Approximately 431 teachers will benefit from the raise.
