PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend School District needs to bring its salary schedule in line with other districts in the state or the quality of education will decline, speakers told the school board.
Christina Laughbon, a fifth-grade teacher at Blue Heron Middle School, told the board Monday night that Port Townsend teacher salaries are low compared to others on the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas.
She cited retirements and a working climate where teachers feel frustrated in the evaluation quality and a lack of professional development.
All of that, she said, “is not going to attract the teachers we want at our schools.”
More than 100 people filled the meeting room and spilled into the hallway during the meeting’s public comment segment.
About 15 people talked about teacher pay.
Superintendent David Engle, who is retiring at the end of the school year, said he was disappointed that the union had gone public with its concerns.
“They have taken the contract bargaining into the public domain when it is usually a closed conversation,” he said.
“They’ve taken it to the street to put on some pressure but need to keep in mind that we don’t have unlimited resources.”
Port Townsend High School attendance secretary Lisa Anderson said the schools “really need to embrace the teachers in order to keep them here.”
“I have talked to no less than 10 great teachers who are thinking of leaving because they are worn out,” Anderson said.
“If we keep piling stuff on these teachers and not compensating them for it we will be in a big world of hurt.”
High school language arts teacher Chris Pierson, who is part of the negotiating team, said the union notified the school district in August that the district had the opportunity and the resources to bring pay to that of the surrounding districts.
“We started formal negotiations in October and are still not sure the school board is aware of the whole situation,” Pierson said.
“We’re talking to community stakeholders in order to rectify the situation.”
Pierson said that it is important that the incoming superintendent, John Polm — who is now the Bremerton High School principal — “should know that teachers in Port Townsend make about $8,000 less than in Bremerton.”
According to the website Teacher Salary Info, the average teacher salary in the state is $54,033.
The average in Port Townsend is $48,872, it said.
The website said that Port Townsend teacher salaries range from $23,940 for preschool to $73,890 for a tenured high school teacher.
Bremerton salaries range from $31,349 to $78,831, respectively.
The Port Angeles range is from $24,671 to $74,665.
Engle said salary comparisons to other districts “aren’t always apples to apples” and that a larger district like Bremerton, Port Angeles or Sequim has greater resources.
Several commenters said teachers backed off salary demands last spring and did not participate in a one-day walkout, which teachers in many districts statewide did participate in, so as to support the $40.9 million construction bond that voters approved in February and which will be used to build a new elementary school.
They said that money has come to the school district that could be used to raise salaries.
Engle said the factors don’t compare, as funding is often earmarked for other purposes.
“The district has a history of not maintaining its buildings, so we are still playing catch-up,” Engle said.
“It will be the decision of the new superintendent whether we should funnel money out of maintenance and operations and put it into compensation.”
Training requirements also cause stress, according to Blue Heron math teacher Melinda Pongrey, who said she ends up paying out of her own pocket to keep her job.
“The district helps some, but I have to pay most of my testing expenses in order to keep my job,” she said.
“I need to get another job, but I don’t have time. I often stay up all night grading papers.”
Blue Heron language arts teacher Chris Neuman, who has taught in the district for 25 years, said that when she began teaching, there were few veteran teachers anxious to retire because they had great energy and enthusiasm to continue on.
“Several years later, I saw a shift begin to happen,” she said.
“The same talented and dedicated people were starting to wear out sooner because more and more was being pushed into the day even though nothing seemed to be pushed out to make way.”
Neuman said it isn’t just the veterans who are wearing out too soon; it is also the mid-career people who are becoming discouraged.
High school teacher Julianne Dow, who with her husband, Ben Dow, makes up two-thirds of the school’s history department, has seen her loyalty to the district diminish.
Last year, she said, the couple received an overseas job offer with higher pay and fewer hassles but decided to stay put due to their appreciation of the community.
“There were a lot of pull factors making us want to go but no push factors,” she said.
“If a year from now this call comes and we are still the lowest-paid teachers, that starts to be a push factor. To not be appreciated is hurtful.”
The next meeting of the negotiating team takes place Thursday, Engle said.
________
Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
