Paying those employees

School board race TAX LEVY ISSUE The business of education Total district operating revenues District spending and enrollment History of tax levy increases About the new tax levy Paying those employees Measuring student achievement How Columbia compares	Paying those employees The majority of the school district’s money is spent on employees. About 82 percent of the district’s operating budget goes to pay for employee salaries and benefits. For each full-time employee, the district pays about $400 per month in premiums, said Laffey, who oversees human resources. Even without salary increases, employees have become more and more expensive for the district. For example, every year the district is required to put aside a percentage of each employee’s salary for retirement. In the 2002-03 school year, it was 10 percent. In the 2008-09 school year, it will be 13 percent. The small percentage-point change compounded over 2,700 full- and part-time district employees makes for a several million dollar increase in costs. Financial decisions in the district come down the chain of command. At the top, the seven Columbia School Board members set standards that drive the number of employees the district hires. The board must approve any increases in the number of full-time employees, Laffey said. The Department of Business services, headed by Linda Quinley, gives the board feedback about what the district can afford and budgets for new hires. The Office of Human Resources then interviews and hires employees. A table, known as the teacher salary schedule, determines how much each employee is paid. The more education employees have, the more they will be paid. The more experience they have, the more they will be paid. Each year employees work for the district, they move down a slot in the schedule (in this case, down is good), and at each step pay either remains the same or increases. Ultimately, the school board decides what pay increases are in the teacher salary schedule. The information the board uses to make its decisions is “mostly coming from administrators,” said board Vice President Darin Preis. “It is the result of a lot of committee work. Administrators filter that and put it into presentation and recommendation format.” “For me personally,” he said, “I take a lot of what I see with a grain of salt.” Preis said he looks for opportunities to double-check the information presented to him against district employees and community members’ opinions. “I just really like to hear how this all feels to them,” he said. “In the majority of the cases, it validates what I hear in board meetings. So yes, I think how we get our information is working.” AUDREY SPALDING \| news@columbiamissourian.com

School board race

TAX LEVY ISSUE

The business of education

The majority of the school district’s money is spent on employees. About 82 percent of the district’s operating budget goes to pay for employee salaries and benefits.

For each full-time employee, the district pays about $400 per month in premiums, said Laffey, who oversees human resources.

Even without salary increases, employees have become more and more expensive for the district.

For example, every year the district is required to put aside a percentage of each employee’s salary for retirement. In the 2002-03 school year, it was 10 percent.

In the 2008-09 school year, it will be 13 percent. The small percentage-point change compounded over 2,700 full- and part-time district employees makes for a several million dollar increase in costs.

Financial decisions in the district come down the chain of command. At the top, the seven Columbia School Board members set standards that drive the number of employees the district hires. The board must approve any increases in the number of full-time employees, Laffey said.

The Department of Business services, headed by Linda Quinley, gives the board feedback about what the district can afford and budgets for new hires. The Office of Human Resources then interviews and hires employees.

A table, known as the teacher salary schedule, determines how much each employee is paid. The more education employees have, the more they will be paid. The more experience they have, the more they will be paid. Each year employees work for the district, they move down a slot in the schedule (in this case, down is good), and at each step pay either remains the same or increases.
Ultimately, the school board decides what pay increases are in the teacher salary schedule.

The information the board uses to make its decisions is “mostly coming from administrators,” said board Vice President Darin Preis. “It is the result of a lot of committee work. Administrators filter that and put it into presentation and recommendation format.”

“For me personally,” he said, “I take a lot of what I see with a grain of salt.” Preis said he looks for opportunities to double-check the information presented to him against district employees and community members’ opinions.

“I just really like to hear how this all feels to them,” he said. “In the majority of the cases, it validates what I hear in board meetings. So yes, I think how we get our information is working.”

AUDREY SPALDING | news@columbiamissourian.com