BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Clay County teachers told school board members they considered the offer by the district in contract negotiations insulting during an October 2 school board meeting.
Sharon Walsh shared a story of a 21-year veteran teacher grading papers until 7:25 p.m., netting just $40 more per week under the offer.
“Teachers, we don’t leave until the job is done,” she said, urging the board to “find some extra money in that budget bucket.”
Barbara McKenzie, a 25-year-plus teacher with a master’s degree, juggling three jobs, painted a grimmer picture.
“I have one small credit card,” she told board members. “I have a mortgage. I have house bills. I have student debt I can’t pay. I drive a 12-year-old car I inherited from my mom. I’m very frugal.”
“Because the school board chooses to pay lip service to its teachers,” she continued, “nice emails saying how much we’re appreciated, statements about how you know teachers work hard for the students in the county. I can’t pay my bills. Financial companies don’t take emails as payment.”
“An extra $800 a year is a slap in the face,” she told board members of its offer.
Clay County Education Association President Vicki Kidwell echoed the frustration, rejecting the proposal for leaving 45% of educators without raises and offering as little as 0.82% for veterans.
“Budgets are about priorities,” she said. “We ask you to prioritize salaries in your budget instead of offering teachers a bucket of leftovers.”
Superintendent David Broskie told teachers that “the board wants to pay you more…that’s not the issue.”
He added that over the past four years, the district had increased teacher pay by $54 million, which he said was two-and-a-half times greater than any pay increase given to teachers since the district was founded.
