BALTIMORE COUNTY — They’ve protested, they’ve pleaded, and some educators even flat out quit due to the lack of pay and respect teachers endured.
School officials are looking to change that. Baltimore County Executives and a few public-school representatives announced a plan to better compensate their teachers.
"It's a good start but it's not enough. This is something that should been done without us fighting for it and pushing for it," said Erica Mah, BCPS teacher.
This compensation package will allow all BCPS employees to see a retroactive seven to eleven percent salary increase for fiscal year 2023, and those who are at the top of their pay scale will receive additional bonuses, but teachers say it's not just about the money. It's about their time.
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"The workload needs to be reevaluated, smaller class sizes, that way we can give to students more individualized attention and it'll give us more time to plan quality lessons because that's what we need to give to our students," said Mah.
"It is important for people to not have to worry about day-to-day living. But we need to have enough time in our schedules to be able to do the tasks that we need to do to keep the students educated," said Llyod Allen, BCPS special educator.
Educators in Baltimore County say right now, they're eighth or ninth in the state for career earnings, so, although the pay increase will be nice, they don't think many teachers will stay if the work environment doesn't change.
"The mental health needs of our students is greater than it's ever been. So our educators are doing so much more, other than just teaching and curriculum and we need to respect that and make sure that there's time to do those things effectively," said Cindy Sexton, Teachers Association of Baltimore County.
This compensation package is for one year only. It includes:
- Approximately $13 million for a full-year 3 percent Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for all staff members retroactive to July 1. BCPS employees were previously budgeted for half a year COLA. Employees will receive retroactive COLA increases beginning early 2023.
- Approximately $30 million in retention bonuses for all staff members.
- Approximately $20 million for mid-year step increases for all employees retroactive to July 1. Employees will receive this step increase beginning January 2023.
- Additional bonuses for BCPS employees who are at the top of their respective pay scale.
