The Jordan School Board of Education LOVES our Teachers! NEVER in the history of education in Utah, has a School Board done more for teachers, than OUR team. In the last 4 years:
WE increased the starting teacher salary from $34,000 to nearly $50,000 yearly. Teachers have been underpaid for way too long. Low starting pay is one of the reasons we have a teacher shortage in Utah.
WE increased every teacher's salary at a comparable rate.
We restored earned lanes that were frozen during poor economic years. Every teacher was restored to their rightfully earned lane.
WE helped Experienced teachers continue to earn step increases every year of their careers by removing salary caps. No other district has this benefit.
WE increased Professional Training by one additional day.
WE provided stipends for teachers working in the parking lots before and after school, and for teacher mentoring.
We have increased the stipend for teachers teaching 7 periods instead of 6 periods. This will allow a teacher who wants to teach more classes, the incentive to take those classes saving the district in building space, and hiring more employees.
WE increased Substitute Teacher pay and will provide incentives to keep long term substitutes.
WE have NOT had an increase in the employee contribution for benefits in 5 years.
Increases unique in The Jordan School District
WE created an incentive pay system called "Educator Grants" that allows licensed educators to earn up to an additional $3,000 ($5,000) for projects that go beyond their daily responsibilities.
WE improved RIS (reduction in Staff) and RIF (Reduction in Force) policy allowing teachers who are RIS to work as a Substitute Teacher with full-time salary and benefits, as they seek a new position.
WE now offer a maternity and paternity benefit package that is NOT averrable in other districts.
WE merger Sick and Personal Leave into Annual Leave allowing employees to use their benefits as to how they see fit.
WE created LEAC (Licensed Employee Advisory Committee) with representatives from each school to help design future benefits and work conditions.
WE provided a comparable salary and benefit increase to ESP (Education Support Professionals)
No wonder Forbes Magazine ranked The Jordan School District, the 12th best employer in Utah, and by far, the best school district to work for in Utah. Jordan LEADS the way.
April 26, 2018
Teachers get the largest increase in Utah History. $35 million over the last two years, with NO increase in your taxes:
Recently, I asked followers on Social Media, what should be some of my biggest priorities. I truly want to serve you as a community, to make our schools a leader in education.
One of the biggest requests is that we work on Teacher Pay.
As you know, Last year The Jordan School District lead out with a huge benefit increase. Every teacher saw an increase and teachers who looked at lifetime earnings, saw a significate increase. One of the major steps we made last year, was removing the cap on the teacher's steps and lanes, so experience teachers could continue to see significant increases. We also, promised there would be a phase 2.
Other districts tried to match what we had done for our teachers, as a result, teacher pay in Utah went up!
Phase 2 is here, and I could not be happier.
Today the Jordan School District is pleased to announce to our teachers and patrons, that another significant increase has been reached. This increase will be just under a 20 million dollar investment. What is exciting is how we are giving this additional money to our teachers.
You will want to look at our official release, but here are some of the highlights.
- All lanes will be increased by $2,800. The lane differences will remain at $875. This brings our entry-level salary to $42,800.
- We are increasing our Professional Training days to one more day. This will allow us to tackle some very important training issues including but not limited to Mental Health and Suicide Awareness.
- Additional pay has been set aside for teachers working in the parking lots before and after school, and for teacher mentoring.
- We have increased the stipend for teachers teaching 7 periods instead of 6 periods. This will allow a teacher who wants to teach more classes, the incentive to take those classes saving the district in building space and hiring more employees.
- Most exciting is the announcement of our Phase 2. In this phase, individual teachers and teacher groups will be allowed to apply for teaching grants. Grants up to $3,000 per teacher and $12,000 per group will be offered for teachers who want to go the extra mile.
This is not merit pay. Teachers will be in the driving seat to come up with a significant project, that will increase the level of there teaching. In most cases, we want teachers to create shareable evidence for this grant money. We hope to create a bank of teaching resources and tools that will help every teacher in the classroom. We want fantastic teachers to teach our amazing students.
I should say, this comes with NO immediate tax increase to our patrons. We will continue to be conservative in our spending, and look for other revenue sources to sustain this effort to increase teacher pay and performance. In the years to come, there may be a time that we will have to come to the public to ask that they help fund this, but it will not be in the near future.
Oh, and did I say, we are just beginning to look at Phase 3. We are not done yet.
I want to thank EVERY TEACHER in the Jordan School District for your hard work and dedication teaching our children. The Jordan School Board and Administration is committed to be the Leader in Education in Utah and throughout the country.
April 28, 2018
Great editorial by The Salt Lake Tribune about our efforts in the Jordan School District.
Our Board has been working hard for many years in adjusting our budgets to allow up to pay teachers more. Since I joined the board a little over a year ago, we have increased our teacher compensation by 35 Million per year. I believe that is not even the best news.
The best news is the Board of Education has created a way for teachers to earn an additional salary based on individual contributions. Teachers can create projects that will not only help the teacher in the classroom, but most projects will help teachers throughout the district in the classroom.
We are determined to reward good teaching so we can ensure we have the best teachers teaching our students.
Thank you, teachers, for working so hard. We are determined to keep working hard for you as we work together teaching our children!!!
Read this great article:
Tribune Editorial: Jordan leads out on teacher pay
"If there is a school district that epitomizes the challenges of public education in Utah, it may be Jordan."