Dist. 204 board approves administrator, staff raises

Indian Prairie board members Monday locked up one-year pay increases for both the support staff union and district administrators.

The one-year contract, approved last week by union members guarantees a 26-cent-per-hour increase for new support staff members, and a 2 percent step raise for existing employees.

The union includes 598 teaching assistants, 95 secretaries, 37 deans assistants, 36 library/technology assistants and 33 health assistants, clerks and receptionists.

Board member Christine Vickers was the only dissenting vote.

"Due to the poor economic environment we have I am playing it very conservative unlike the rest," Vickers said. "I would have been more amenable to a lesser increase this year in order to equate any potential drastic changes in the future because I'm very concerned about what the (Consumer Price Index) will be in the future."

Board member Mark Metzger said not ratifying the deal would have put the district even further behind pay rates for similar jobs in neighboring districts, making it harder to retain employees.

The group's three-year deal expired in April and included a 5.15 percent increase in salary and benefits for 2006-07, a 4.11 percent increase for 2007-08, and a 4.02 percent increase for 2008-09.

According to the new agreement, the starting salary for secretaries next year would be $13.49 per hour, and assistants would start at $11.01 per hour.

Board members also increased administrative salaries by a total of 3 percent next year with Superintendent Stephen Daeschner, Deputy Superintendent Kathryn Birkett and all assistant superintendents receiving a 1 percent increase. All other administrators and staff, specifically principals, will receive the same 3.87 percent increase approved for teachers last month.

"Our staff are all important to us and the staff that we view as leadership sits in these ranks and in my opinion, the heart and core of getting things done resides in the administration," Daeschner said. "I am very supportive of these salary increases. I think they're well-deserved because we have put tremendous amounts of pressure on our administrators to do numerous things."

Both Dawn DeSart and Vickers voted against administrator salary increases.

"I think that many of our classified people don't make a living, so that's why I felt I had to vote for that raise," DeSart said. "But I think our administrators make a very good living. We appreciate them and they do great work for us, but with the economy the way it is I have to say no."