Salary Guide Improvements
Reported after Training

Recent rounds of bargaining have resulted in a growing number of school boards attaining improvements in teachers’ salary guides. Among advancements are removal of balloon steps (large increments); reduction in the cost of increment; and assurance that the guide is structured to attract and retain highly qualified staff.

To equip school board members and administrators with the necessary skills to address their salary guide concerns, NJSBA will conduct Analyzing and Constructing Salary Guides on February 25 at the Ramada Inn and National Conference Center in East Windsor.

Convenient One-Day Format  The program’s new, convenient one-day format is designed to accommodate our members’ busy schedules.

During the program, participants will be guided step-by-step through the process of salary guide analysis and construction. Techniques for addressing salary guide distortion –  as well as tactics and strategies for effectively negotiating guide changes – will be covered in detail.

Results! Districts that participated in recent NJSBA salary guide training report improvements, such as–

• Elimination of 19 balloon steps from the guide, the largest of which represented a 15% increment. (The district’s new guide has no increment greater than 4.4%.)
  
  
• Changes to attract and retain new teachers. A district with noncompetitive starting salaries and small increments at the lower steps of the guide had difficulty attracting and retaining staff. It also had three consecutive balloon steps at the high end of the guide, amounting to 30.2%. The board negotiated a new guide that eliminated the balloons, boosted starting salaries and increased the small increments.

For more information about Analyzing and Constructing Salary Guides or to register, call the NJSBA Labor Relations Department at 1-888-886-5722, extension 5224.