- Tuesday night, the Jackson Public Schools (JPS) Board of Education tabled a motion to provide "extra duty pay" to top staff for managing implementation of the recently approved school bond measure.
- Trustees differed on whether JPS staff or professional managers should be used to manage bond measure implementation, and some questioned whether it's fair to give "extra duty pay" to administrators, but not to teachers.
- The Board will take up the question again at its December meeting.
At its Tuesday meeting, the Jackson Public Schools Board of Education tabled a motion to extend extra duty pay to top staff.
The purpose of the "extra duty pay" — a total of about $266,000 over 5-6 years — would be to pay administrators to manage implementation of the recently-approved school bond measure.
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"As a teacher, I feel like if I heard this in my district, I would be really discouraged," said Trustee Alaina Sharp. She called the proposal distracting to administrators and unfair to teachers. "We're not recognizing that [teachers] are doing extra duties, and we are not taking steps to alleviate those extra duties first."
As trustees signaled their intent, the measure didn't seem to have the votes to pass.
Trustee Kesha Hamilton suggested hiring a project manager — an "owner representative" — would allow the District to use bond funding, which it can't use for "extra duty pay".
"These bond dollars could pay an owner rep, so we wouldn't be impacting our general fund dollars," said Hamilton.
Proponents like Trustee Derek Dobies stressed outside managers would still need to consult with JPS staff, taking up their time. Better to use JPS staff as managers, he said, because "these are people that know our buildings, know our students' needs, and, I believe, are uniquely equipped to see the project through."
Dobies said staff had already proven themselves managing the previous bond measure — and had saved the District 70% over the cost of outsourcing the work.
The proposal will be taken up by the Board again at its December meeting.
WATCH THE VIDEO PREVIEW OF TUESDAY'S MEETING:
Longtime Jackson Public Schools Board of Education observer and JPS parent William Hastings voiced his concerns to the Board during public comment. He questioned why salaried employees should receive extra duty pay.
"There is no extra duty pay for teachers," Hastings told me before the meeting. "Or others, other salaried employees or contract employees at JPS....You're agreeing to a certain set of pay and benefits in exchange for doing all the work that, that that job entails."
Hastings also questions the timing of the proposed extra duty pay, coming in a year that saw budget and staff reductions at JPS.
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