Teachers union pushes dedicated funding source for salaries
When Gov. Steve Sisolak promised educators a 3 percent raise during his state-of-the-state speech, some teachers couldn’t help but wonder: Would that money ever reach their paychecks? Or would the money be diverted elsewhere?
It’s happened before.
Teachers within Clark County School District are supposed to be able to look toward the salary schedule negotiated by their collective bargaining agent, Clark County Education Association. It lays out salary increases based off length of employment (“steps”) and levels of professional development (“columns”). Step increases equate to about a 2 percent raise. Column advancement results in larger raises but requires significantly more work, typically in the form of advanced degrees or professional development courses.
“Since 2010 or 2011, ever since the recession, there’s been $1 billion cut, and we’ve been in constant battle to see any kind of increase,” says Jon Vellardita, executive director of CCEA.
Even after an infusion of money, as occurred in 2015 when then-Gov. Brian Sandoval created a new business tax to support education, the teachers within the state’s largest district went six months without any salary increase while their district and union battled over an agreement.
Read more: https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2019/03/25/teachers-union-pushes-dedicated-funding-source-for-salaries/