Doctorate Compensation

A rumor has been circulating which states that Administrators with a Doctoral degree or who are earning a doctoral degree will be getting a $3000 bonus this year. A union rep. brought this information to the attention of the WEA Exec. Council on August 24 and it was decided to get the facts and report them to members.

This rumor is incorrect and here are the facts.

Here are the facts:

1. The Administration was completing their Act 93 negotiations last Spring as part of their agreement, which is done every 2 to 3 years, it was finalized with language stating from July 2011 onward that Administrators who earn their Doctorate will be entitled to a salary increase of 3,000.

1. The language is as follows:

Doctorate compensation: An increase of $3000 in salary for an earned doctorate.

2. For every 15 credits up to, but not exceeding 60 credits, teachers earn a salary increase with their coursework even if a Doctorate degree has not been earned. This was an increase for teachers that occurred beginning 2 negotiations back and it is found within our contract. This changed from the credit limit of 45 from the previous contract to 60 credits.

3. Administrators who already have their doctorate cannot get paid this stipend retroactively.

4. We have frozen on step, but we are entitled to movement to the right on our salary schedule this year as in every other year. Movement to the right is not frozen so you could see an increase in pay if you finish obtaining credits to the next level to the right. (Example, B+15 becoming Bachelors +30 will yield a pay increase this year.) The Administration has the same situation.

5. There is no one person planning to complete their Doctorate this year.

Please feel free to ask any questions or share additional thoughts or concerns.

Lisa Hochreiter

WEA President