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Despite budget cuts, some Lodi Unified School District salaries continue to rise
In a year which saw layoffs, increased classroom sizes and threats of furloughs, some Lodi Unified School District personnel are questioning annual administrative raises as high as 15 percent.
"In the same year cuts were made, there were some pretty hefty raises given," said teachers union president Sue Kenmotsu, who added that e-mails on the raises have been circulating among district staff all week. "It made teachers mad. It made classified (staff) mad. Our concern is, what is the message?"
One of the largest salary jumps was for Chief Business Officer Doug Barge's position. His pay went from $139,000 in 2007-08 to $146,000 in 2008-09, and this year he will make $160,000. Both increases — 15 percent in three years — were approved by the school board.
Meanwhile, a technology services classified administrator's salary increased 10 percent, from $111,000 to $122,000.
And an assistant superintendent's secretary got a 15-percent raise, from $52,000 to $60,000.
Superintendent Cathy Nichols-Washer said the figures can be misleading, and chalked the raises up to negotiated agreements and a complicated formula referred to as "step and column."
"They're not raises to the position. They're the natural progression of step and column under the contract," added Nichols-Washer who took a self-imposed pay cut to her $225,000 annual salary, due to the multi-million-dollar shortfall heading into this school year. "It's not what appears on the surface."
In the matter of Barge's $21,000 increase in three years, Board President Richard Jones said that when the district looked at that position in similar and even smaller districts, Barge was making quite a bit less. "We felt that was an injustice for that position to be so lowly compensated. It was justified at that point in time," Jones said.
Other raises under the 2009-10 annual budget approved by the board in June include:
Both Jones and Nichols-Washer said some of the increases may be related to longevity or cost of living adjustments; both certificated and administrative positions receive these.
Jones said all of the salary discussions were done during union negotiations. "It's nothing that we hid. When those raises were kicked in, they were done so publicly and they were done so properly," he said.
"To say that will happen in that next school year, I won't say that. But we didn't do anything that should be looked at as something improper," he said.
Nichols-Washer added, "In most cases, outside maybe of the individual positions, there weren't raises. It was the normal course of business the district adheres to under contracts.
"Looking at raw numbers like that, someone's going to say, 'Those were some big raises.' But when you think about it, teachers got raises, too."
The average teacher salary is about $50,000, according to Kenmotsu, though step and column increases make actual salaries vary.
The superintendent also pointed out that teachers work 182 days a year while administrative secretaries work 245. Each administrator works roughly 220 days a year, although specific numbers were unavailable.
Some district employees — including certificated and classified positions — are entitled to regular raises under their contract; however, administration are considered at-will employees and their salaries are set by the school board.
Teachers did receive raises last year based on the union contract, some up to 10 percent.
"But we're not talking about the people who already make $147,000 a year," Kenmotsu added. "There were some pretty hefty raises given ... and teachers are down at Wal-Mart buying supplies. Most of these people's raises were greater than what teachers receive in a paycheck over a few months."
The salary issue was brought up a few times at last week's budget input meeting held by the Superintendent's Budget Advisory Committee. The district is once again facing a $20 million shortfall for the 2010-11 school year and is seeking public input.
Among the speakers was longtime Lodi High School teacher Mike Wood who took issue with certain raises.
"I don't understand why, in times like this economy, the chief business official gets a pay raise," he said before noting that the assistant superintendent position was eliminated in budget talks last February but included in the final budget.
"If that position was expendable, then it is now," Wood said.
Another speaker focused her comments to the committee directly on the district administrative office.
"I want you to take as much away from the Education Support Center before you even think about putting more students in my classroom," said Lindsey Ortegel, a second-grade teacher at Lois E. Borchardt Elementary School.
Increasing some class sizes were among the ways the district dealt with this year's budget deficit.
Contact reporter Jennifer Bonnett at jenniferb@lodinews.com.
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Contrapasso wrote on Nov 23, 2009 9:54 AM:
Your obvious grudge against teachers precludes you from seeing reality. There are too many overpaid administrators in this district. These are people like Odie Douglas and Bill Atterbury. Then there is the superintendent, who has 2 executive assistants and a secretary. Washer makes approximately 225,000, her assistants make between 52,884 and 72,884. Her secretary makes between 44, 088 and 59,916. A teacher starts at 37,556. How fair is that? You don't think that's a bit crazy? Last time I looked, an advanced degree wasn't necessary to be a secretary. I am not maligning the secretaries, but one's pay should be commensurate with one's education, don't you think? "
lodivice wrote on Nov 22, 2009 8:36 AM:
takealook wrote on Nov 22, 2009 8:21 AM:
THEN MAY I ASK WHY DOES EVERY DEPARTMENT HAVE SO MANY WORKERS/ ASSIST? "
homeinlodi wrote on Nov 22, 2009 7:24 AM:
less teachers = larger class sizes
larger class sizes = less actual teaching done "
Lets Be Real wrote on Nov 21, 2009 6:53 PM:
I meant to say potential cut to their pay below. "
Lets Be Real wrote on Nov 21, 2009 6:51 PM:
I took you up on your offer, but I didn't make the connection. I mean, if the implication is that just because they have a business services department then that means they could take care of the district's business functions, then is it not true that any large organization with an accounting, budgeting, and human resources department has the capacity to do these tasks?
Lets be real, when I hear those of the district payroll talk about "what's best for kids" out one side of their mouth, they are talking about what's best for them out of the other.
As I read the different blogs and hear from my neighbors, I can't help but think that when teachers talk about doing what it best for the kids, they associate any potential to their PAY as being harmful to kids. What type of logic is that? If they are paid less, will they not teach as well? Will they inflict emotional distress on our kids? Will they not be professional? As a taxpayer, I don't want to hear it! "
edumacation wrote on Nov 21, 2009 5:39 PM:
http://www.sjcoe.org/
Many of these "jobs" are EXACTLY the same as in Lodi, but they have very few students--mostly "alternative school" types. These people are so underworked that they are constantly bumping into walls LOOKING for something to do other then sleep or watch the clock.
We could easily transfer workload from the LUSD to the SJCOE. All we have to do now is encourage them to wake up and start working. Go visit the place---filled with do-nothing educrats bored and waiting for retirement.
LOOK THEM UP! "
Lets Be Real wrote on Nov 21, 2009 2:34 PM:
How much would we have to pay? Would the county do it for free? Hmmm, maybe the teachers could do it. Well, I don't know, but I know I want the cuts because they don't do anything.
I say we find a similar district that has found a way to do without all the admin costs. Hey, lets look at Stockton Unified. Bad example. Lets look at Galt Unified. Wait a minute, they are way smaller than Lodi Unified and they STILL have admin costs.
I got it. Lets look DNEUSD. That district doesn't have any admin cost. The teachers are in charge of all the teaching and learning, and their admin costs are nill because teachers collaborate with each other to use their talents to handle all compliance and financial decisions. Of, I forgot to tell you what DNEUSD. It stands for Does Not Exist Unified School District! "
dyan wrote on Nov 21, 2009 9:48 AM:
Kent Clark wrote on Nov 21, 2009 9:47 AM:
Schools are about teaching and learning, yes? In the grand scheme of things, what is more important than having a school stay open; shouldn't there be more teaching and learning opportunities, not less?
What's more important, the cost of four highly paid administrators or summer school for hundred's of kids who may not have enough credit to graduate or need a second chance at getting what they should be getting, more knowledge, better skills.
The basic question is "who should benefit from school" students or administrators? Are "they" there to create higher paying jobs or higher test scores for their students?
Gurtrude Stein is famous for saying (about Oakland, California).."There's no there when you're there."
Does LUSD want to creat a system that makes sure that there is "no school at that school"? Seems to me...that's exactly what they are doing. No summer school will ensure that less teaching and learning will happen, the dropout rate will be higher, that fewer kids will go on to college...you know the rest. "
oh really? wrote on Nov 21, 2009 9:28 AM:
For the school year 2008-2009 teachers received a 1% increase. For 2009-2010 no increase. There was a clarification of this listed on page A2 of Thursday's Lodi paper. "
takealook wrote on Nov 21, 2009 9:23 AM:
Kent Clark wrote on Nov 21, 2009 9:14 AM:
What does ESC stand for? Educational Support Center? Who do they actually support,teaching and learning? How?
If everyone at ESC vanished tomorrow, how would that affect/effect scores?
How many Vice Principals and Asst. Principals are employed by LUSD?
What do V.Principals cost yearly? About 6 million give or take? 10X summer school?
If all V. Principals vanished next week how would that affect/effect teaching and learning?
What is the job description of the Superintendent? Associate Superintendent? The two Asst. Supperintendents? How about all the rest of the administrators and staff at ESC, what do they do?
If all the people at ESC disappeared next week, how would that affect/effect teaching and learning? Would it make any difference at all?
On the whole, what do students actually learn from administrators, anything?
What do students learn from teachers, everything?
If you had to fire an admin. or a teacher, who would you fire and why?
If there is no summer school how will students learn in the summer?
Did LUSD teachers really get a 10% raise recently? "
takealook wrote on Nov 20, 2009 4:30 PM:
DEC. 8, 2009
DISTRICT OFFICE
7:00 P.M.
BUDGET WILL BE DISCUSSED!
Please come and support our schools and students. "
edumacation wrote on Nov 20, 2009 12:01 PM:
When your job requires that you follow regulations tightly, that means the job can be done by computer! We need to subcontract out the LUSD personnel department. If you ask any of these CLERKS, why we need them they will whine about how they are overworked.
Answer this question: What do certificated RECRUITING clerks do when they are not hiring? What do they do the rest of the year after selections have been made? These jobs need to be contracted out. Most districts have a substitute teacher computer to handle that task- when school is in session. What do they do when school is not in session? How many do they have? High salaries? You betcha!
Contrapasso - You just said the word "many" to be polite. "MOST" of the "administrative secretaries" at the ESC have HIGHER SALARIES than most teachers. These paper shufflers and pretenders are being rewarded for getting their GED's!
State law allows us to contract out these paper-shufflers. Lets start before they promote themselves AGAIN! "
Contrapasso wrote on Nov 20, 2009 11:31 AM:
You obviously have no idea what you are talking about. I don't know what your problem with teachers is, but I hope you get reality check soon.
Many teachers don't make as much as a secretary at the district office. How's that for equity?
Edumacation: I looked at that site. I had to go throw up afterward. I can't believe that one guy who did an interim job now brings home 15,000+ per month. What a waste of money. "
teach247365 wrote on Nov 20, 2009 8:01 AM:
No manual labor? I'd love to be able to fix things around my classroom, but CSEA won't let me. That's not my fault. however, I do make sure all of the trash is off of the floor, and that there are no major messes for custodians to pick up.
And yes, my employer CAN reprimand me. I know people who have had it happen to them, simply because they spoke out about issues that were not being taken care of.
Don't worry, I'm not blogging on the clock. I'm sick today. Yes, I have a limited number of those days, like many of my friends not in education. I would have been at school anyway, but I have no voice and had a fever last night. I shouldn't have to explain, but apparently for you, I do. "
teach247365 wrote on Nov 20, 2009 7:46 AM:
Teachers get paid for 7 hours of work, 182 days a year. However, many of them work 10-12 hours a day, put in time on the weekends, as well as working in their classroom in the summer.
Teachers are not guaranteed a raise every year. Look at the step and column. If there's no movement over (from taking classes...an expense out of your own pocket), there are only raises every 5 years.
Teachers don't get paid for lunches - what lunch? The "official" lunch period is 30 minutes long, bell to bell. But if you think of the students who stick around to ask a question, and the fact that you have to be back to your classroom to teach, you get about 20 minutes to actually sit and eat.
I don't know anyone else who has to buy supplies for their workplace. My husband doesn't. My parents don't. My friends outside of education don't. Enlighten me. Who does - all without badmouthing their employer? "
Lets Be Real wrote on Nov 19, 2009 7:11 PM:
I work 9 months out of the year less than 8 hours a day.
Regardless of the economy, I have an iron clad contract which guarantees me a raise for 19 YEARS in a row.
I get paid for lunches, sick leave, and
unlike other people who buy supplies for their workplace, when I do it I can claim the right to bad-mouth my employer.
Also, unlike other working stiffs, my employer can not fire or reprimand me because of the quality of service I provide.
I bear no responsibility for doing any manual labor. I leave that to my underlings.
I have bear no responsibility for ensuring that my workplace does not go out of business. I give that "credit" to my boss (unless something good happens, then I will gladly take the credit).
Oh yeah, I get free, fully paid health care.
Who am I? You guessed it....I am a TEACHER...gimme, gimme, gimme.... "
edumacation wrote on Nov 19, 2009 4:07 PM:
districtemployee
Contapasso
AreYouSure
Have any of you visited
www.Californiapensionreform.com/database.asp ?
These are only those retirees who are collecting STATE PENSIONS at 100k/year or greater. It does NOT include other government pensions, Social Security benefits (there are loopholes to collect this), AND 401K and 403B plans as well as 757 plans.
Those who are at $99,999/year and less are not included in this database.
Jennifer---Please start looking up local bureaucrats.
Galt has three on the list and Stockton has 60 retirees making over $100k/year pensions. There are mnay more under different government names, including San Joaquin county with 30 more. "
districtemployee wrote on Nov 19, 2009 9:03 AM:
edumacation wrote on Nov 18, 2009 11:02 PM:
http://www.californiapensionreform.com/database.asp?vtsearchname=&vtsearchemploy=LODI+UNIFIED&vtquery=1&vttable=calstrs
The California Pension reform organization LISTS every pension salary over $100,000/year for both CALSTIRS School districts and CALPERS (other government employees).
The top of the list for the LUSDd is guess who? ITS DISGRACEFUL! This person makes MORE income retired than as an employee.
This is a fun site---You can check on over 6,133 CALPERS retirees at over $100k/year or 3090 school district retirees making over $100k/year.
According to this site The LUSD has one "retiree" making $15,977.86/month.
What about "the kids"? LOL These recipients are obviously looking out for number ONE.
Look at the city of Lodi: Our own Jerry Adams is listed at $9,146.54/MONTH.
The top KLEPTOCRAT though is Bruce Malkenhorst from the city of Vernon who receives $41,639.57 per Month = $400,674.84 per year.
The Governor of California only gets $175,000/ year. Compare this with our last "Interim" acting Superintendent who in RETIREMENT from the LUSD makes more! He was known more as a personnel functionary than anything else. "
blossom wrote on Nov 18, 2009 3:50 PM:
FYI: It dosent cost anything to wate the lawn.
The district des not use ANY pesticides what so ever.
The lawns do need to be kept short or it is a safety hazard for everyone.
I work at a school and let me tell yu if there is a brown spot I hear about it.
I agree Teachers and Classified have taken a beating on cuts.
We still need our paychecks,EVERYTHING we do to keep our schools safe takes a multitude of people who are highly skilled at their jobs.
I do not understand why we need layer upon laye of sups assistant supes etc..
They are breaking LUSD not us whos wages are not breaking the bank.
We need our secretarys as well, Most of the time they are the ones who run the show anyaway!
Bottom line is if us Techers and Classified ( Aka Little guys) Dont dol our jobs th Black suits and ties can't show up and look good : )
Enough said cut cut cut at the top! "
edumacation wrote on Nov 18, 2009 3:47 PM:
Call any teacher or administrator in the Manteca Unified School District and ask THEM, if they were happy or sad that she left her previous administrative quagmire.
There were cheers and tears of joy when she departed. Ask them why! Was there a dark cloud brewing? Was the PROMOTION justified to HELP CHILDREN LEARN?
I don't think so!
If you don't know teachers or administrators use Google to find the lawsuits and problems. You won't have to look far.
How did she handle budgets at Manteca?
Early outs--with a cut in retirement benefits FOR TEACHERS, or hefty raises for compadres in the district office.
She acts like she has a seige mentality.
students= bad
parents= bad
teachers= bad
classified workers=bad
Central office kiss ups= BEST EMPLOYEES you can have. Why? They volunteer to take them blame for large handouts. "
AreYouSure wrote on Nov 18, 2009 11:18 AM:
That was part of my point, even though the custodian and guys at M & O are not in the classroom with the students, they play a big part in keeping the classrooms, clean, safe and functioning.
I don't necessarily think that wanting the grass to be trimmed and green is a bad thing, especially when thats their job as groundskeepers. "
districtemployee wrote on Nov 18, 2009 10:19 AM:
Contrapasso wrote on Nov 18, 2009 10:06 AM:
Contrapasso wrote on Nov 18, 2009 10:05 AM:
Continued from lower post:
We understand that there will be a small group of students who have been counting on summer school to remedy credit deficiencies. We are working on strategies to address this issue. We also realize that summer school programs help students work toward proficiency in math and language arts, however, when faced with such a tremendous budget problem, decisions need to be made that will mitigate lay-offs and reductions to the regular instructional program.
The Board will continue to review budget reduction strategies as we move forward with our budget planning efforts. At this point, we plan to take an initial budget reduction proposal to the Board on December 8, 2009, as a report item.
Although the Superintendent’s Budget Advisory Committee is completing their work, you may still send in your ideas for budget reductions to me.
Thank you.
Cathy Washer "
Contrapasso wrote on Nov 18, 2009 10:03 AM:
At last night’s meeting, the Board of Education voted to sweep over $600,000 to address our budget crisis of nearly $30 million. These funds were originally allocated for summer school for K-12. The state has given districts the flexibility to utilize certain restricted funding sources to help address the budget crisis. Summer school funds fall into this category of “sweepable” funds.
Continued on next message "
AreYouSure wrote on Nov 18, 2009 9:02 AM:
Howevery, You always hear the teachers say, "Keep the cuts away from the classroom, cut the positions at the ESC, better yet, close the ESC.
The Teachers need to remember a few things: who keeps their computers and software up and running, who processes their pay check and who makes sure their classrooms are clean and safe. If their heater dosen't come on, they want it fixed...If the lights burnt out they want it fixed, Who will take care of all of these things:
All of the people who currently take care of those issues pretty much work at the ESC...but our positions should be cut and the ESC should be closed-So I guess the Teachers will take care of everything!!!! "
Bob Hussein Loblaw wrote on Nov 17, 2009 2:56 PM:
shockedinlodi wrote on Nov 17, 2009 2:31 PM:
Bob Hussein Loblaw wrote on Nov 17, 2009 12:45 PM:
Contrapasso wrote on Nov 17, 2009 11:33 AM:
RV wrote on Nov 17, 2009 10:27 AM:
takealook wrote on Nov 16, 2009 7:11 PM:
When a district administrator gets a PAY RAISE they are delighted to decide what new vehicle they can get and what island they can go to on their vacation.
Just food for thought! Where is the fat??? "
homeinlodi wrote on Nov 16, 2009 5:44 PM:
SportsGuru wrote on Nov 16, 2009 12:52 PM:
There will likely be no Freshman team sports next year in LUSD, but some district executive staff will continue to be able to purchase their Direct TV NFL packages ... that's a relief. "
SportsGuru wrote on Nov 16, 2009 12:51 PM:
"LUSD's unions need to stand up and be heard." ?????
The compensation system is a PRODUCT of the Unions!!!!! "
dyan wrote on Nov 15, 2009 9:48 PM:
roni95242 wrote on Nov 15, 2009 1:41 PM:
roni95242 wrote on Nov 15, 2009 1:38 PM:
why does Pennington and Atterbury need assistants? They never had them before when Ferrara and Dr. Brown were there? "
educator wrote on Nov 15, 2009 9:03 AM:
dyan wrote on Nov 15, 2009 8:52 AM:
incredulous wrote on Nov 15, 2009 8:07 AM:
Welt was the only one of the "top" level admin who was part of a surprise move by the board last Feb. who actually did not get her job back. The other positions were all reinstated by the board. "
anayud wrote on Nov 14, 2009 8:37 PM:
homeinlodi wrote on Nov 14, 2009 7:07 PM:
edumacation wrote on Nov 14, 2009 6:57 PM:
The LUSD slogan Its "all for the kids" should have been "Its all for the educrats and a nickle for the kids".
The taxpayers are not fooled into how the ESC salary BUBBLE started a few years ago in a building at Washington elementary school and ended up with a castle and a moat on Vine Street.
The teachers are the serfs (indentured servants) and the Queen and her Royal court consisiting of "administrative secretarys" and assistants laugh at and mock the teachers who are in the trenches teaching and taking ALL the heat of standardized testing.
There are more than a few carpetbaggers who ar getting riches from the toil of others. Its time that they return to the disasters they made at their previous districts who are still in disarray. The Peter Principle is proved again.
Most of these kleptocrats are in jobs that require more than their abilities. "
takealook wrote on Nov 14, 2009 4:19 PM:
I am a classified para working in the classroom. To be a para you now need an AA. I cannot believe what the district administrators are doing to our district. I along with the teacher I work with spend our own money to run our class---you can't do much in a classroom without pencils and paper. LEA and CSEA unions need to take a firm stance and demand that ESC eliminate the excessive waste. It might be necessary to consider STRIKE. We do not need the district office open all summer. We also don't need office staff at school sites during the summer. We need to be able to teach our students! "
lodivice wrote on Nov 14, 2009 3:51 PM:
roni95242 wrote on Nov 14, 2009 2:53 PM:
DO you know who the 2 admins were that actually were laid off? to my knowledge they were all reinstated. "
roni95242 wrote on Nov 14, 2009 2:47 PM:
So does this mean our COLA went to higher ups instead of us? Why do we always have to fight for our cost of living raise??
The cost of living hasent gone down.... Our colas should be a given we should not have to fight for them and NEVER get them.
Teachers and Classified need to STAND AS ONE and not allow this They cannot run any school in this district without us! Or benefits are horrible they better do somthing or we need to have a sick out and lets show them our worth! "
dyan wrote on Nov 14, 2009 1:29 PM:
homeinlodi wrote on Nov 14, 2009 12:28 PM:
wtf wrote on Nov 14, 2009 10:20 AM:
My guesstimate, given our topsy-turvey government, would be about $2.00 goes to "the kids" i.e., students and teachers, while about $30.00 goes to the top heavy administration. "
oooph wrote on Nov 14, 2009 10:08 AM:
At my office, in the last 18 months, all employees took two separate pay cuts ranging from 5% to 15% (the more you made the bigger the cut). On top of that, some of us are on 4 day weeks for another 20% cut. The 10 partners took an even bigger pay cut to set an example. LUSD is sticking with raises. Where is the leadership? And don’t tell me about contracts. They can be renegotiated when times are as tuff as they are now. Put the well rounded education of children first! "
wtf wrote on Nov 14, 2009 10:06 AM:
GET RID of all of the Assistant and Associate Sups listed above, as well as their "support" staff and you would have roughly $850,000 extra....just to start.
Reading this story after reading about the "homeless" students was an excellent juxtaposition LNS!
What did the other story say? When the schools couldn't get their $$$$ per student, they sent out truant officers, then enlisted the fricking welfare department.
GET RID of these over-bloated and USELESS agencies and help the families in need....like with JOBS....not "service" jobs; real jobs that pay a living wage.
Taxpayers have been saying this over and over; yet the "elected" officials just don't seem to get it:
CUT THE FAT! "
marleyo wrote on Nov 14, 2009 9:51 AM:
lodimaestro wrote on Nov 14, 2009 9:25 AM:
incredulous wrote on Nov 14, 2009 7:43 AM:
lodidian wrote on Nov 14, 2009 7:36 AM:
Sometimes, common sense and good business practice dictate that contracts be reviewed and re-negotiated. Just because these outrageous ( in my opinion ) contracts were written and approved by the board back when times were good, does not mean they cannot or should not be reviewed and changed now. Do your job---make sure you tax dollars are directed where they will do the most good. "
homeinlodi wrote on Nov 14, 2009 7:15 AM:
Comments on this story are now closed.