PSS employees get salary increase

The Public School System has began disbursing staff compensation adjustments to qualified employees after two years of running without salary increases due to austerity measures put in place by the present administration.

More than 600 PSS principals, vice principals, and staff are recipients to the one-step or 3 to 5 percent salary increases being given out this month.

Due to technical glitches, however, half of the eligible recipients have yet to receive the salary raise, according to the PSS budget office.

“Since the time we had our new financial system, we have not been giving out raises. . .we’re just experiencing some technical problems,” said PSS acting Fiscal Budget Officer Bill Matson.

Instead of waiting for the next government pay day, the PSS budget office has decided to administer a special payroll to accommodate employees who have been listed as qualified to receive the salary adjustments.

To qualify for the one-step salary adjustment, the staff must be employed continuously during the last two fiscal years (1999 to 2000) and whose salaries in FY 2000 were 3 to 5 percent higher from FY 1999. Their employment must be included in the PSS budget covering those fiscal years.

The approach assures that recipients to the PSS salary increases have been with the school system during the austerity period within the last two years.

“This is a form of “thank you” from the Commissioner and the board to those employees who have stayed on,” said Mr. Matson.

The Board of Education agreed last summer to use operational allotments to cover the increases for deserving PSS employees.

For PSS staff not reflected under the FY 99 budget, they will eventually receive the 3 to 5 increase as part of the annual WGI process during the FY 2001 provided the FY 2001 budget reflecting the 5 percent increase is approved by the governor, according to Mr. Matson.

Should there be no budget, the said employees may receive salary adjustments at the end of the current fiscal year through the same process currently employed by PSS, subject to availability of funds.

Meanwhile, BOE members last August moved to restore WGIs for PSS employees to assist those who have survived the past two years without receiving such incentives.

The board has given Education Commissioner Rita H. Inos the flexibility to oversee the implementation of the increase, based on the amount of resources available within the system.