Wayne County Public Schools says supplements only partly responsible for teacher shortage
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on August 31, 2017 5:50 AM
Wayne County continues to lag behind other area counties in the amount of pay teachers receive in supplements.
The lower supplements also play a partial role in the county's 20 teacher vacancies currently on the books.
Teacher supplements often become a deciding factor when teachers are choosing where to work, said Yvette Mason, assistant superintendent for human resources with Wayne County Public Schools.
"The supplement is significant, I would say," Mason said. "Many times, teachers that we find may be between two districts. They're not only applying here to Wayne County, they're applying to Wilson, Johnston County.
"They may be offered an opportunity in one of the neighboring districts, and once they're told 'this is your salary and this is your supplement,' often times they'll share with us that they've obtained another opportunity somewhere else because of that difference."
Teacher supplements offer educators pay on top of their base salary, an amount that's set by the state and based on experience.
Wayne County's teacher supplement is 6.5 percent, in comparison with Wilson County, which pays certified teachers 8 percent, and Johnston County, which provides a supplement of about 11 percent. Wake County teacher supplements are even higher, closer to 20 percent, officials said.
The starting salary for a teacher, with no experience, in Wayne County is $35,000. The 6 percent supplement adds $2,275 to the base pay, resulting in $37,275 in annual income.
Earlier this year, administrators with Wayne County Public Schools requested additional funding from the Wayne County Board of Commissioners, said Michael Hayes, WCPS finance officer.
School system administrators requested a 1 percent increase for the 2017-18 school year, followed by four more years of supplement growth.
The increase was not approved, Hayes said.
Having a competitive supplement is important for Wayne County, especially since Johnston and Wake counties continue to experience growth and an increased demand for teachers, he said.
Despite Wayne County's lower supplement, vacancies are not unique to the area nor is the problem as severe as it used to be, said WCPS public relations officer Ken Derksen.
"A few years ago, before the administration change, you were looking at more like 90 vacancies at this time of year," he said.
Counties all over the state are also dealing with a teacher shortage, a problem which is expected to get worse when class size reductions mandated by the General Assembly take effect in the 2018-19 school year.
While WCPS cannot match the supplements of other counties, Mason said there are other ways to attract teachers to Wayne County.
"Right now we have a signing bonus at Goldsboro High School, and we have some other bonuses to attract math and science and (exceptional children) teachers at other schools," she said.
Math, science and exceptional children teacher positions are difficult to fill, she said.
"When it comes to math, science and E.C., it's a struggle," she said. "I'll have principals calling me saying 'I only have one applicant for this position.'"
The district is working on a plan to provide recurring payments to teachers who stay on year after year, as a way to invest in retaining staff. That investment, however, would come from federal Title II money, which Mason said could diminish if Congress adopts President Donald Trump's budget. That makes the recurring payment a risky plan, and Mason said she would much rather just have a competitive supplement instead.
In lieu of that, the district has to be as aggressive as possible when hiring. Being transparent about vacancies is a part of that -- making sure prospective teachers know exactly where the openings are -- as is inviting student interns to join the school system. Mason said that WCPS has 25 such interns, a few of whom have already been offered jobs.
"We have three interns who are math certified, and we have three math vacancies," she said. "And I told them 'you're hired.'"