The Superintendent, with input from staff members, will prepare salary schedules annually for all non-administrative employee groups.  These schedules will be submitted to the Board of Education for approval.  (See also Policy 4131 - Extra Duty and Extended Duty Contracts.)  Salary recommendations for all administrators will be prepared and submitted to the Board annually.  Administrative salaries will be based upon a variety of factors including, educational preparation, years of service within the District, and within public education, years of service as an administrator at each administrative level, years of service within the District, regional comparisons to similar districts, number of contracted days, administrative responsibilities, and salaries of other District administrators within category – building and central office.  Consideration will be given to administrators’ previous salary for all newly hired administrators.

Course credits for horizontal movement on the salary schedule may be approved under the following guidelines:

1. Courses must carry graduate credit status, with the exception of undergraduate courses in an assigned teaching area in which a staff member has full rather than provisional certification. To receive credit for undergraduate courses, application must be made with the Superintendent/designee, and approval given, prior to taking the course.
2. Courses that relate directly to the major, minor, or teaching areas of certification do not need prior approval. To receive credit for those courses outside the major or minor areas of certification, application must be made with the Superintendent/designee for approval.
3. Courses in which the core content is the same, or which carry the same course number, can be used only once for horizontal movement on the salary schedule.
4. To receive credit, the staff member must submit an official course transcript and completed district for 4505 prior to September 1 of the school year for which movement is being sought.

For your degree and/or coursework to be accepted to meet certification requirements, they must be completed at a regionally accredited college or university. The regional accrediting agencies accepted by our department include the following: 

• Middle States, Association of Colleges and Schools 
• New England Association of Schools and Colleges
• North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
• Northwest Association of School and Colleges 
• Southern Association of Colleges and School 
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges
• AdvancEd
• Higher Learning Commission

Hard-to-Staff Schools

The Board of Education may utilize a differentiated placement on the District’s salary schedule to increase compensation and to facilitate recruiting and retention of teachers in hard to staff subject areas and hard to staff schools.  No modifications will result in the demotion of any teacher on the salary schedule.  The Board of Education will take action on the District’s salary schedule after all schedule differentiations have been made.

Definitions

“Hard-to-Staff Schools” - attendance centers in which the percentage of certificated positions that were left vacant or were filled with a teacher not fully qualified in the prior academic year exceeds ten (10%) percent as reported to DESE.

“Hard-to-Staff Subject Areas” – Content areas for which positions were left open or were filled with a teacher not fully qualified in the prior academic year, as reported to DESE.

Reporting

The District when using differentiated placement on the salary schedule under this Policy will annually report to DESE as follows:

1. The salary schedule adopted by the District.
2. The number of positions filled by teachers placed on the salary schedule for hard-to-staff subject areas.
3. The number of positions filled with teachers placed on the salary schedule for hard-to-staff schedules.
4. The number of steps and additional compensation that teachers with differentiated placement received for the school year.
5. Any other relevant information requested by the department.

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