Date: Fri 23-Jul-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: JEFF

Quick Words:

teacher-salaries-Reed

Full Text:

Newtown Is Falling Short In Teacher Salary Competition

BY JEFF WHITE

On Tuesday, Newtown High School Principal William Manfredonia was still

sifting through prospects in order to fill two vacant teaching positions

remaining at the high school. This was after hiring three new teachers in the

math department alone between July 13 and July 16. The apparent teacher

shortage reflects Newtown's lack of success in competing with other school

districts for teachers.

"When you're competing for a limited number of people, we are at a

disadvantage with some school systems in Connecticut because of our salary

guide, that's just a fact," said Superintendent of Schools John Reed.

"Hartford is one of the higher paying districts around, and some of the other

districts considered themselves districts that are competing with Hartford, so

they went and raised their salaries aggressively."

The result has been several high school teachers leaving Newtown for higher

salaries in neighboring towns. In addition, Dr Reed said last Friday that

there have been two teachers who had been recently hired at the high school

who reneged on their contracts, opting instead to sign on in other school

districts.

Mr Manfredonia recognizes the temptation for teachers to take higher paying

jobs. "You can't fault them. Let's say you look at $6,000 more per year over

ten years. That's a lot of money."

Although one math department position and physical education position remain

to be filled at the high school, both Dr Reed and Mr Manfredonia are confident

that the high school will be fully staffed for the upcoming school year.

However, both feel that the rampant hiring they have had to do, coupled with

the problem of competing with other school systems, has left Newtown to face

the realization that some changes need to be made.

Competition

In an interview on July 20, Mr Manfredonia commented on how competition in the

teaching field has evolved over the past 30 years, a development that demands

schools of today to provide more attractive teaching packages than ever

before.

In the 1960s, public schools saw an influx of new teachers fresh out of

undergraduate and graduate college programs. Many positions were available,

and competition was relatively low.

But because of the teaching boom of the 1960s, over the next two decades there

was a dearth of job openings in the teaching field. This all changed during

the 1990s.

"Now with the number of people who are reaching retirement, there's going to

be a lot of openings, and it's going to be very competitive," explained Mr

Manfredonia.

Newtown High School was certainly not immune to a large teacher exodus. This

year, 21 teachers retired from the high school, prompting Mr Manfredonia and

other school officials to devise ways to fill the voids left by the veteran

staff members.

"We were fortunate to start the whole [hiring process] back in January, so we

were able to get out very early and hire some very exceptional people," said

Mr Manfredonia. But there were also numerous teachers that both Mr Manfredonia

and Dr Reed sought out who turned down Newtown in favor of other schools.

"The schools that pay well are going to be able to get top candidates," added

Mr Manfredonia.

Greener Pastures

"We had a teacher last year who went to New Britain and got a $14,000 raise

going into his fifth year of teaching," said Dr Reed last Friday. "He went

from earning $38,000 to $52,000."

"The problem that I'm finding right now is that there are a lot of areas where

there are schools that are also looking for people, and we're not being as

competitive financially as we should be," said Mr Manfredonia. "As we come

down to hiring people, [teachers] are also comparing Newtown to other schools

and you can't blame new people or people who are moving for going for salaries

that are up to $12,000 more."

Still, in the face of this competition, no significant salary increase is

planned for Newtown teachers. Right now, high school teachers with bachelor

degrees earn $34,393 per year, and teachers with masters degrees earn $37,911

per year. However, by the 2001-02 school year, the proposed salary schedule

has these teachers earning $1,776 and $1,958 per year more, respectively.

"Other schools do [in terms of pay] in 12 years what Newtown does in 16," Dr

Reed told the Board of Education Tuesday night, July 13. "We don't have to pay

what other districts pay, but when there's an opportunity for them to raise

their salary by 20 percent, it becomes a challenge."

"We are working very creatively to minimize in every way the disadvantages we

have by offering other advantages," he added.

The Call For More Money

The Board of Education plans to seek out additional funding from the

Legislative Council to place in the operating budgets of the various town

schools, a move that might produce a future opportunity to increase teacher

pay.

Recently, the Connecticut State Department of Education has been awarded two

grants totaling nearly $900,000 to support teacher recruitment and enrichment

programs. Newtown will see a portion of that money.

The Board of Education decided in an executive session during its last meeting

to formally ask the Legislative Council for the increase in state aid that the

town will receive. Dr Reed hopes that this will pass without a lot of

political rhetoric, because "we have a lot of needs and do not have the budget

to meet them."

Keeping teachers in Newtown schools is proving to be one such need.

"My point is this: the people who are coming to Newtown are bringing very high

expectations. I'm sort of in a Catch-22, because if I say that we can't meet

them, then I ought to resign from my job as superintendent, because my job is

to make the best with what we have," Dr Reed said.