Many schools have yet to enact pay freeze despite budget cuts

By Yasmin Tadjdeh I PA Independent    

HARRISBURG — Many school districts are grappling under deep budget cuts after not enacting a one-year pay freeze for administrators and teachers, a move backed by Gov. Tom Corbett and the state’s largest teachers’ unions.

So far, 29 percent of school districts have enacted a pay freeze for some employees, but only 8.6 percent have frozen the pay of all teachers, administrators and staff, according to statistics from the Pennsylvania School Board Association, or PSBA, which keeps an unofficial record of schools participating in the freeze. The PSBA is a lobbying organization representing school boards.

Enacting a pay freeze throughout Pennsylvania’s 500 school districts could save $400 million in one year as well as 4,000 jobs, according to the Corbett administration.  

“These meager numbers are shameful; the public sector employees should not be the only sector of this economy shielded from the fiscal downturn," said state Rep. Curt Schroder, R-Chester, on Thursday. "Teachers, the administrators and support staff could have avoided much of this, yet they chose not to."

Currently, 154 districts still are negotiating teacher contracts with their respective teachers’ unions, and could not enact the pay freeze, said Steve Robinson, PSBA spokesman. He said a school board and union must agree to the pay freeze; a school board cannot unilaterally impose a pay freeze.  All 500 school districts have their own local union, but almost all are affiliated with the Pennsylvania State Education Association, or PSEA, the state's largest teachers' union.

In March, Corbett called on all school districts to freeze employees’ pay after he presented his budget. The PSEA supported pay freezes, with PSEA President Jim Testerman asking members to “seriously consider” such a move, in a statement in March.   The PSEA did not return calls for comment over a two-day period.

Corbett’s Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis said he was disappointed with the low number of districts that heeded the governor’s request.

"I'm a little dismayed," Tomalis said. "We hope school districts would look at this as an opportunity."

Districts that have enacted the pay freeze acknowledge cooperation on the part of local unions.

The Twin Valley School District in Berks County opted to freeze salaries for administrators, teachers and staff for at least two years because of more than $1 million in budget cuts. The freeze, said Twin Valley Superintendent Robert Pleis, will save the district nearly $1 million this year and save programs throughout their schools, including all-day kindergarten.

“Our (union) group has a good idea of what we’re up against here,” said Pleis, who added there was “overwhelming” support for the freeze.

Districts can freeze wages, but not the cost-of-living adjustments, said state Rep. James Roebuck, D-Philadelphia, minority chairman of the House Education Committee. The cost of living increases in the state vary widely from region to region.

“I’m not a proponent of pay freezes,” said Roebuck.

The reality, he said, is that although wages can freeze, inflation and a person’s needs do not, even if school districts face tough budgets.   At the Pottsgrove School District in Montgomery County, administrators and teachers had their wages frozen this school year after the district took a nearly $1.5 million cut in the budget.

The district and the unions decided that pay increases were not feasible, and it was “fortunate that everyone came together,” said Pottsgrove Superintendent Bradley Landis.

The decision to freeze pay allowed the district to avoid cutting certain services and programs like other districts have done, Landis said.   But state Rep. Scott Conklin, D-Centre, said pay freezes may not be the answer for every district.

“When you look at the pay freeze, you have to remember that all districts are not created equal,” said Conklin. “At the end of the day, you have to look at each school district individually. Each school board has to look at their district individually, and look at whether freezing pays will actually hurt the hiring practices in the long run.”

Conklin said it is “ironic” that Corbett is asking for pay freezes for school districts when he has not frozen the salaries of his own staff.  

For a full list of districts that have enacted partial and full pay freezes, please click here.