The Eureka Springs School Board wrestled with the effects of a state-mandated large increase in the starting pay for teachers. At Monday night’s meeting, Supt. Bryan Pruitt explained the immediate effects of the $50,000 salary for beginning teachers.
The board members agreed with the concept of increasing teacher pay, and some thought the $50,000 figure should have been higher. Pruitt explained that the state will give school districts extra funding to help with the increases. However, that additional funding will only cover two years, and each district will have to find ways to budget for the extra salary costs thereafter.
Pruitt further explained that the district will need a completely new salary schedule, with raises based on experience and additional qualifications, such as a master’s degree. For now, teachers already making more than $50,000 will receive a $2,000 raise. Everyone else will receive the basic $50,000 rate. The legislature’s decision will move Arkansas from the low end of the national pay scale to the higher end with the stroke of a pen.
The added salaries will cost the district an estimated $353,000 per year, and the state will only contribute $313,000 for the first two years. Pruitt said the district will have to look closely at funding issues. In the meantime, he acknowledged the difficulties of asking a veteran teacher with additional degrees to take the same pay as a novice. Describing the legislature’s mandate, Pruitt noted, “We didn’t get to vote on that.”
The legislature has approved extra funds for the teacher raises, and another legislative act allocated $470 million for new prison beds. With the state also cutting sales taxes, Pruitt wondered how the math would work. Board member Al Larson, presiding in the absence of Chris McClung, suggested that legislators might not be using the same kind of math as Eureka Springs students learn in school.
Pruitt also noted that six districts in the state do not currently have any teachers making $50,000. Another six already have minimums that meet the new state mandates. Those schools are the four in the I-49 corridor and two schools in Little Rock.
Another part of the Arkansas Learns act will change the way students are tested. Pruitt said the new methods will not “dumb down standards,” but will clarify standards across districts. He also noted that a proposed bill to change terms of service for board members has not gone forward through the legislature. That bill would have also required board members to register their party affiliation.
New teacher David Oliver was designated to deliver the principals’ reports. Oliver teaches history and speech, coaches soccer, and works with Quiz Bowl students. He said students are preparing for ACT Aspire testing later this month. High school students have been busy with competitions, including 12 students involved in state skills competitions in carpentry, masonry, and other trades. Future Farmers of America students competed well at regionals, and some advanced to state. Future Business Leaders of America students also competed at the state level.
Prom is scheduled for April 14, and students will have a chance to tour the Connect 4 facility in Berryville, to see if they would like to take advantage of the vocational training afforded there.
Graduation is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 13. Oliver said the soccer team should qualify for state, and he has 15 students in the Quiz Bowl program.