#39 - Fair Pay

SalaryStructure and OrganizationBudgetOperationsTransparentcyComments and OpinionsRecommendation and ProposalsFinances

Sep 12

We are not big fans of structure and bureaucracy and we are in favor of you getting whatever you can get for yourself. If you can get yourself an attractive compensation package, more power to you. It’s the American way.

Having said that, there is a lot of logic to a well thought out and rational salary system. A reasonable plan is easier to explain to employees if it’s all worked out before hand. Having a salary administration plan discourages under and over payment of salary and, by establishing a range of pay for every position - low, mid and high - it defines a starting place and a path to follow and that gives the employee an incentive to be productive and a good employee. It creates a apparentcey of fairness and confidence.

Salary management is not so bad when there are just a few people. You can sort of do it in your head. When it gets a little bigger, a written system is the only wat you can keep it under control.

There is no easy, universal frame for salary. Salary is subject to competitiveness and supply and demand. It is subject to lots of variables like location, experience, education background and local budget guidelines.

Issue of transparency is different. If you have the investigative prowess of Sherlock Holmes and the patience of Job, you can find salary data on the Internet. We think it should be organized, more easily accessible and published so we don’t have to jump through hoops to get at it. Please see our post Salary

Most salary administration is public and that’s good. Sometimes it’s really complex. You have to have a PhD to understand it. The real disagreement is with only a few individuals who take advantage of the system. A school board member who is pulling down $300k a year is gaming the system.

Quoting from our earlier post entitled Salary:

“Salary is not always what it seems. A compensation package can be just the salary or can include any combination of benefits. The actual total value of a compensation package might be much more that just the salary by itself.

Direct Salary
Compensation for Location or Cost of Living
Incentives or Bonus
Health Insurance and Benefits
Pension and Retirement Contributions
Automobile or Transportation Allowance
Miscellaneous Allowances
Time Off (Holidays, Vacation, Maternity and Sick Days, etc.)
Flexible Work Hours and Work-At-Home
Child Care (or Allowance)
Educational Allowance
Miscellaneous Perks or Stipends”

The following table is not scientific and was constructed from random data. Its only purpose is to give us some reference points from which to generally evaluate salary structures and relationships. Repeating what was said before, there are a number of variables regarding salary; regional cost of living, years and kind of experience, educational background and much more.

It doesn’t seem reasonable that we would pay a clerk $150K and we wouldn’t pay a manager or executive $15 an hour. Obviously. There is a common sense to salary logic and this is nothing more than a hint of that logic. The average pay for a school board member is $71,147 with a high of $87,861. The average pay for a teacher is $60,021 with a low of $52,647 and a high of $69,549.

Good teachers and administrative staff deserve to be well paid. Good work deserves good pay. Operating a smooth and well thought out salary plan takes a lot of time and a lot of work, but it’s worth having a stable and calm workplace.

Having a fair and rational program promotes stability.

Over paying someone kills morale everywhere.

Under paying people drives away talent.

Make sure the salary plan in you district is built well and sits on a good foundation.

Click on the icon below to download the Salary Audit Project.

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Roberto Publico

A Patriot and modern pamphleteer.

http://www.ourtalkingpoints.com

#39 - Fair Pay

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