OPINION: Kirkwood Resident Voices Concerns Over School District's Pay Increases

Dear school officials, staff:

A couple of concerns about the pay increase recently approved:

Why was this decided before the county's property valuations were released?  Wouldn't it make sense to get a handle on potential revenue before locking into a half-million dollar added expense?  Clayton, other districts are waiting until next month.  The Kirkwood decision appears reckless and self-indulgent.  

Why isn't the pay increase on the home page of the district's web site?   Personnel, after all, is the district's biggest expense, and this pay hike is a significant increase, also affecting pension expenses.  I had to click several times before finding the issue in board minutes.  The introduction reported only the new starting salary.  Why weren't the top salary and the average salary reported?  I would assume that few Kirkwood teachers are near the bottom of the scale, and that most are closer to the top.   Incidentally, the fact that the Webster-Kirkwood Times reported the increase should have been an indication that it was news, and that more detail was needed on the web site.  Wasn't there polling last year indicating residents wanted greater transparency regarding district finances?  I guess that poll was a waste of money.

Finally, why are Kirkwood school personnel immune from the financial issues that affect the rest of society.  Pay cuts and pay freezes are a fact of life in the private sector.  Kirkwood's average teacher salary is probably the highest in  the state, certainly above Clayton's.  The superintendent's compensation is certainly the tops in the state regardless of enrollement.  Based on salary to budget, he makes more than any university president in the state.  Yet year after year, regardless of the second-worst downturn in U.S. history, and the only two decreases in county property values in history, Kirkwood salaries rise, regardless of performance.  

The only answer that I can see is the self-indulgence referenced above.  Board membeers puff out their chests in defending high salaries, thinking they add prestige to the district.  Only the most shallow-thinking among our citizens would accept that argument. 

Thank you,

Joe Whitnall