Posted by Heather
9:20am-10:15am
TRI Survey Update and Costs of Local Salaries, Benefits and COLAs
Jennifer Priddy, OSPI
Annie Pennucci, WSIPP
Ms. Pennucci began with an overview of TRI (Time, Responsibility, Incentive) pay in the state, and included an update with data from 2007-08. Of the reporting districts, 16 percent offer no TRI pay. The remaining 84 percent of districts offer TRI pay ranging from $276 to $12,539, with a weighted average of $5,581. Factors affecting TRI pay include size of the district (in students), wealth (levy valuation), levy passage amount, and geography.
Ms. Pennucci then provided follow-up data requested at September’s Task Force meeting. It appears higher TRI pay is related to labor market conditions, where areas with tighter labor markets have higher TRI pay.
We then looked at what TRI pay goes toward, there was great variety between districts. In some districts, most TRI pay goes toward Incentive supplements, while in others more TRI pay goes toward Responsibility supplements.
Superintendent Kowalkowski asked about the districts that reported no TRI pay (guessing they were mostly small), and would like the names and sizes of the districts.
Dr. Bergeson asked about which districts not offering TRI pay also do not have levies. Chair Grimm asked a follow-up about the number of districts in the state that do not have levies.
Ms. Priddy’s presentation sought to answer questions posed by Chair Grimm. She began with compensation. Total compensation makes up 82-84 percent of total expenditures by districts (65 percent for salaries, 9 percent for pensions, 11 percent for health insurance). School districts spend $1 billion on health, life and disability insurance for all employees. Districts spend about 8 to 9 percent more per teacher than what the state allocates (typically made up by levy funds).
Ms. Priddy also spoke to supplemental pay. Supplemental pay increases by about 6 percent annually for full-time certificated staff (including extracurricular coaching). Increases in supplemental pay come from COLAs applied to TRI pay, COLAs above the state COLA, increase in extra duties, new incentives, and higher or more frequent class size overload. Chair Grimm clarified that these were all districts’ decisions and not imposed on districts by the state. Ms. Priddy answered, generally yes. Dr. Hyde clarified that sometimes COLAs and increases in benefits can feel like a mandate. Ms. Priddy added that the state does not require COLAs to be applied to supplemental pay, districts make that choice.
Looking at COLAs in 12 large districts, there is large variation in the amount of additional COLAs staff receive. In the 2008-09 school year, teachers in Seattle Public Schools will receive a 5+ percent COLA above the state COLA of 4.4-5.1 percent.
Ms. Priddy closed with the fact that compensation expenditures outpace local, state and federal revenue. In the 2009-10 school year, districts are projected to spend $127-$134 per student on I-732 COLA increases ($28-$35 on COLA increases for all teachers and $99 on COLA on local funds). This is compared to the typical levy growth of $60-100 per student, leaving districts short $27-$94.
