By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A proposition on the St. Joseph ballot Tuesday would raise the St. Joseph School District levy by 59 cents to pay for a $2,750 flat increase for teachers and all staff.
St. Joseph School Superintendent Gabe Edgar says the school board decided to approach raises differently if voters approve Proposition S.
“What we have done is we’ve come up with a dollar amount, which is $2,750. So we’re going to give $2,750 to every employee in the school district,” Edgar tells host Barry Birr on the KFEQ Hotline. “That means, every para-educator, every food service employee, every operations, every teacher, every administrator, every single employee is going to get $2,750.”
If the issue passes, the St. Joseph School District would waive Proposition C funding from the state in exchange for the 59-cent increase in the local tax levy. It would raise an estimated $7.1 million annually. Proposition C was approved by Missouri voters in 1982, dedicating a one cent sales tax to public education if districts reduced their property tax levy. Nearly all school districts in Missouri have waived Proposition C in favor of local funding.
Edgar says St. Joseph has suffered in attempting to attract and keep teachers, because of the district’s low salaries.
“You don’t go into public education to get rich. You go into public education, because you have a calling. You go into public education for students. Some people do make decent money at the end of their careers,” Edgar says. “Whenever you start in public education, you’re not doing it to become rich, I can promise you that.”
Edgar says the St. Joseph base teacher annual pay of $40,000 is lower than all but one of its 15 neighboring districts. An increase to $42,750 would make the St. Joseph School District more competitive in recruiting teachers.
“So, we’ll go up to right below Savannah, which is at $43,000,” Edgar says. “We’ll bypass Plattsburg, East Buch, Mid Buch, Blue Springs, and Raytown and then be right below Cameron and Savannah.”
Cameron pays teachers a base wage of $43,100 while Savannah has a base teacher pay of $43,000.
Click HERE for more on Proposition S.
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