ACPS is proposing salary and cost of living adjustments as part of the budget package. If approved by the School Board, teachers, administrators and ACPS support staff will receive a step increase along with a market rate adjustment next school year. This is being considered as part of the Superintendent’s Proposed Budget that was presented at the School Board Work Session in November.
To support the higher salaries and control the rising cost of health care, ACPS is proposing adding a third option to the health benefit package, allowing staff more flexibility in controlling their health care costs. We are also looking into the possibility of adjusting staff contributions to the other health insurance packages to make them more equitable across the division.
ACPS currently offers a top-of-the-line “platinum plus” benefits package for employees who take either the United Healthcare or Kaiser health care packages. ACPS pays 94.1 percent of the total cost of health care compared with the employee share at 5.9 percent. This is far higher than many of the other benefit packages offered by other school divisions across the region.
As well as providing a salary increase for staff, the proposal would also help ACPS attract and retain good staff. Teachers often compare salaries across the region when deciding whether to join ACPS and stay long-term with the school division.
While starting salaries for new ACPS teachers are locally competitive, salaries for experienced teachers fall short. Over time, teachers reach the top of the salary scales sooner, making salaries less competitive as teachers advance in their careers. Our goal is to keep our teachers, invest in them and grow them to become the future leaders of the school division.
The proposal was discussed at the School Board Work Session on November 13 as one of the key considerations for the FY 2020 Combined Funds Budget.
With low-premium plans, employees have more flexibility and control over their health care costs by using a health care savings account.
For staff, this would mean more options in choosing a health care plan that can have a direct impact on take-home pay. This option would provide greater choice for staff in selecting a health care plan based on their own health care needs and that of their family.
Recommended changes to health plan options and the potential impact will next be presented to the School Board at a work session on January 17, 2019.
View the presentation from the November 13 School Board Work Session (PDF).
Watch video of the November 13 School Board Work Session.