Fairfax County teachers probably will not receive the midyear pay raises they were hoping for after two years of salary freezes.
The school board likely will use the $21.3 million in federal stimulus funding from the Education Jobs Fund grant for raises in the 2012 budget — but some school board members were concerned that 2012 wasn’t soon enough.
“Morale is at an all-time low. It’s at a breaking point,” said Patricia Reed, suggesting that more and more teachers “are just punching the clock” and that turnover has climbed to 50 percent.
“A lot of these teachers are going to leave if we don’t begin to recognize them,” she said.
Fairfax teachers have not received cost-of-living or step salary increases since fiscal 2009; in the past two years, the budget has been slashed by $52.5 million to $2.2 billion, even as enrollment has ballooned by 7,000 students. School officials are projecting an additional 2,120 students next year.
Eight of the 12 board members tentatively voted to thaw the pay freeze next year, but requested more time and information from the budget office.
It would cost $9.2 million for a basic cost-of-living increase this year, as well as $18.5 million to keep it up in 2012. To renew step increases midyear would cost $17.1 million on top of $42.5 million next year.
In both of these scenarios, not every employee would benefit.
Board member Stuart Gibson noted the approximate 6,000 contract employees whose days were cut in the past two years. “Are we looking at giving some people a raise when we haven’t made up for the pay cuts we’ve imposed on other employees?” Gibson said.
Although the board considered using the grant to help pay for the 517 employees who are funded by grants, its members decided the money was best reserved for teacher compensation.
Board member Tessie Wilson, who led the work session, said the board agreed “that’s what we’re using it for, not buying books or anything like that.”
The board also voted to request funds from the Board of Supervisors for a 2 percent salary increase for cost-of-living adjustments. The two groups are scheduled to meet Oct. 26.
“We would have preferred to have the money at midyear, but … this is a sincere commitment to improving the problem, and I think the work force will understand,” said Steven Greenburg, president of the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers.
