On Jan. 11 the Press ran an article entitled “Rising salaries drive up school budget.” While the article is fully accurate, I thought I would share two additional points of information that further explain the rise in salaries: changes in the health care contributions and the movement of $360,000 from contracted services to salaries for custodial coverage.
During the last contract negotiations, the employees exchanged a higher contribution for health care for a higher cost of living adjustment (COLA). The COLA went from a previous 1.5 percent to 2.64 percent and health care contributions increased from 10 percent or 15 percent (depending on the date of hire) to 20 percent and 25 percent. This negotiation created a $280,000 decrease in the town expense for school employee health care. These savings do not appear in the school district’s budget; they are reflected in the town’s omnibus budget that shows all town employee benefits. The lower health care costs will continue, as well as lower other post-employment benefits, referred to as OPEB.
The second impacting factor to the rise in salaries was the movement of $360,000 out of contracted services and into salaries. For two years we contracted the custodial cleaning services to an outside vendor. After experiencing difficulties, including inconsistent staffing, we recently ended the contract and hired our own custodians. We have been able to hire our own dedicated team and offer them benefits for the same amount of money we had budgeted for the contracted services. This change caused an inflation to the salary line for the fiscal 2020 budget.
These details and many others will be discussed in greater detail at the school district budget review meeting Saturday, Jan. 26, at 9 a.m. in the upper Town Hall large group meeting room. Please consider attending or contact School Committee members or me (ldwight@psharvard.org) with any questions.
We appreciate the financial resources the community provides our teachers, support staff, and school leaders as they continue to create a learning environment for students described in our vision statement: “The Harvard Public Schools, dedicated to educational excellence, guides all students to realize their highest potential by balancing academic achievement with personal well-being in the pursuit of individual dreams. The students engage in learning how to access and apply knowledge, think critically and creatively, and communicate effectively. They develop the confidence and ability to understand diverse perspectives, collaborate, and contribute to their local, national, and global communities.”
Linda Dwight is superintendent of the Harvard Public Schools.
