Unit 4 Admin Raises

The Unit 4 School Board has apparently put off raises for administrators that raised some eyebrows earlier in the week. From the News-Gazette on Monday:

Raises for Unit 4 administrators on board agendaIf the school board signs off on Superintendent Susan Zola's recommendation, some Unit 4 district officials could soon be in line for 4 percent raises.

The agenda for tonight's first board meeting of 2019 includes an item calling for raises for "all eligible administrators," retroactive to July 1, 2018.

Asked by News-Gazette Media which administrators would be eligible for raises, Champaign schools spokeswoman Emily Schmit said the list would not be made public until after tonight's meeting.

Full blurb here. The next day after the meeting the followup appeared to shed some light on what the concerns might have been, especially in light of the recent struggles between the Teacher's Union and the district on their latest contract (more on that here). From yesterday's News-Gazette:

Champaign school board puts admin raises on hold; no word on why
...
School board President Chris Kloeppel said the item would appear on a future agenda but didn't specify when. Questions from The News-Gazette about the raises, who they would affect and why they were delayed went unanswered by the district.

The district's announcement of administrative raises came after months of controversy between Unit 4 and the Champaign Federation of Teachers, who decried a "top-heavy" approach to district management during contract talks last year. Despite the issue being tabled, CFT Second Vice President Michelle Anderson gave a statement during Monday's meeting, citing a recent state law that caps raises in the last four years of an educator's career at 3 percent and penalizes districts who provide end-of-career raises higher than that.

"CFT had to work hard to help our off-schedule members receive a 3 percent raise," she said. "The administrators are under the same guidelines as teachers — this demonstrates your questionable priorities."

Full article here, with more details on other board items. Board minutes and agenda available at the Unit 4 Board webpage when posted.