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Education

Montgomery school employees set to get raise under budget deal

By Michael Alison Chandler,May 21, 2012

Montgomery County public school employees can look forward to their first raise in three years under a tentative budget deal announced Monday.

The settlement between the school district’s employee unions and the Board of Education would provide an average increase of about 3.4 percent — after a three-year freeze in cost-of-living increases and a two-year freeze in step increases.

“Our employees have given up a lot in the last three years,” Superintendent Joshua P. Starr said during a news conference Monday morning. “We believe it is time to ensure that their compensation meets the increased demands of the future.”

The deal signals a slightly more optimistic fiscal forecast after a period of austerity. Other school districts, including Fairfax and Prince George’s counties, also are trying to negotiate some form of compensation increase in the coming year, although rising health-care and pension costs continue to strain local budgets.

The salary increases are part of the Montgomery school system’s $2.1 billion budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The spending plan for the 146,000-student system represents a 2 percent increase over current annual spending and meets the maintenance-of-effort requirement, a newly clarified Maryland law that requires at least a constant level of per-student funding year-to-year.

Early uncertainty about state-level funding slowed negotiations this year after state lawmakers left Annapolis in April without approving new taxes. A special session held last week restored funding for public education.

Under the new plan, all employees hired before Feb. 1, 2012, would receive a salary increase in July. Those no longer eligible for step increases would get a 2 percent raise. The proposal must be ratified by the unions. A final vote by the school board is scheduled for June 14.

School officials said part of the $47 million cost of the compensation increases would be offset by $27 million in savings achieved partly by a higher-than-expected number of retirements this year.

The budget deal also includes increases to employee co-pays for doctor visits and prescriptions, which are expected to save $7.5 million. Health insurance premiums for Montgomery school employees, the lowest of any school district in the region, would remain unchanged.

Other Montgomery County employees also are expected to get a raise next fiscal year in the form of $2,000 bonuses. Gino Renne, president of the Montgomery County Government Employee Organization, sent a letter to County Council members this month decrying the “ever-widening gap” in compensation between school employees and other government workers.

Doug Prouty, president of the Montgomery County Education Association, said “stability” should be a priority for all county workers, not just educators.

“We think all employees deserve a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.