Sunday, December 4, 2011

2,473 Salaries over $100,000

In 2006, there were 765 MCPS employees making over $100,000.  

As of January 2011, there were 2,473

2,473 over $100K as of Jan 4, 2011

27 comments:

  1. What is the purpose of this post?

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  2. Comparing 2006 to 2011 without adjusting for inflation is ridicules. At 2.5% per year the cut off in 2006 would have been $88,261 per year. The better comparison is how many over $113,000 per year.

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  3. Inflation?
    Teachers haven't had a raise in 3 years.

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  4. Anonymous, check the posts. these people are getting handsome raises -- way more than most of us in the 'private sector.' If 'teachers' are not getting raises, why do you vote for your union leadership over and over again? They are in there negotiating and it looks like they are doing quite well for themselves. The union liaisons, Gary Bartee and Betty Montgomery, are making over $100k. This is who the teachers voted for. Your choice. Our tax dollars.

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  5. Teacher, administrators and support staff all receive the same cost of living percentage over this time. They also generally receive the same step or seniority advances as well.

    Since administrator pay is 12 month and higher than others, their overall pay rises more than the other two job positions.

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  6. Anonymous, so the teachers do get raises? COLA is a raise. Any increase in salary is a raise. Can you clarify this? I am somewhat confused. Did teachers get salary increases or didn't they? Thanks.

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  7. Starting in 2006 all MCPS employees received COLAS (I'm starting with 2006 because the original poster arbitarily picked that date) for several years. The COLA's were always the same percentages for all MCPS employees.

    Either three or four years ago all MCPS employees gave up their 5% raise. Since then no MCPS employee has received a COLA. Approximately 2-3 years ago longevity steps were also frozen for all MCPS employees

    So since 2006 (again, picking the start date used in this thread), it is true to say MCPS employees have received COLA's and steps. It is equally true to say their salaries have been frozen for several years.

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  8. @anonymous 4:10

    What year would you like to go back and look at for MCPS salaries if not 2006? Please let us know where else the public can find historical data on MCPS salaries besides the ONE Public Information Act document obtained by the Examiner news service.

    There is nothing arbitrary about the use of 2006. It's all that exists for historical data!

    Thanks to the Unions sitting at the secret budget table, the public can not track the MCPS budget details.

    And as to the rest of your comment, how exactly do you explain the amazing jumps in salary that we are seeing for administrators? What's frozen about those salaries? Either administrators got phenomenal raises in one year or the salaries aren't frozen at all. Which is it?

    http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2011/12/board-adds-5-directors-since-2006_09.html

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  9. The arbitary comment reflects that one could start from any year, not a personal attack as you seem to have taken it. Didn't really care that it was 2006, it's just that statistically it's an arbitrary date.

    As for the raises, I think my previous post covered this. Since 2006 there have been a few years with COLAS and STEPS. So every individual on your list has received a COLA and STEP (if they have been in MCPS since 2006). Additionally, some most likely have changed jobs via promotion and seen their salary increase. HOwever it is also accurate to say their salary has been frozen for the past several years.


    YOur link in the 4:29 post is about the number of jobs added, not the individual salaries of those making over $100000.

    It is also true that MCPS appears to have added administrative positions since 2006. That would drive up overall salaries for administrators as a group, but is statistically unrelated to the salary increase would have received during that time.

    Put another way, overall salaries are up as a result of COLAS, STEPS and apparently an increase in administration positions.

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  10. @8:02 - Read the actual post. The individual salaries of each Director is listed for 2006 and 2010. Readers can see exactly how much the individual salaries increased over those 4 years. The list shows the same people in the same position in 2006 and 2010.
    What you are saying is that these positions got STEP and COLAs that totaled around $20,000 in 1 year and then the salaries were frozen? There are only 4 years between 2006 and 2010.

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  11. @8:02 - And no, one can't start from any year because the Unions, MCCPTA and MCPS keep the MCPS budget a secret. That's not a personal issue, that's a public issue. This is a public budget and the public has the right to know the details.

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  12. Janis, I did read the post. It has a start date of 2006 (no actual start date, just a year...2006) and an end date of January 2011. Depending on when one took the data in 2006 (fiscal 2005-6 or fiscal 2006-7) that could be either 4 or 5 total fiscal years.

    Now try reading my post for accuracy. I said there were several years of raises and several years of frozen salaries. Since one can't tell which fiscal year 2006 references it's impossible to tell how many years of raises and frozen salaries there are. Either way there would be 2 or 3 years of raises (several COLAS at 5%) and STEPS. There also would be several (ie: more than one) years of frozen salaries. Before you tell me to read, I'd suggest you do the same.

    Also, I didn't say this wasn't a public issue. Show me where I said the public shouldn't know salaries? I said you took my comment about the 2006 start date personally and it wasn't meant that way. Never once did I suggest the public has no right to know salaries. They certainly do. I'd agree that every year should be public knowledge, but again that wasn't what we were discussing.

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  13. History of MCPS COLAS and STEPS from FY 2007 (July 1, 2006 - June 30, 2007) - present:

    FY 2007:(http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/budget/FY2007/superintendent/pdf/appendix.pdf)
    3% COLA effective July 1, 2006. Additional 1% COLA effective mid-year. All employees were to receive a 4% COLA at the beginning of the FY (July 1) but 1% was delayed till mid-year. STEPS were funded

    FY 2008: http://www.nctq.org/docs/12.pdf - go to pages 44-45 of the document to see salary schedules for FY 2008 - FY 2010
    (July 1, 2007 - June 30, 2008) - 4.8% COLA effective July 1, 2007. STEPS were funded

    FY 2009 (July 1, 2008 - June 30, 2009) - 5% COLA effective July 1, 2008. This is the last COLA MCPS employees have received. STEPS were funded

    FY 2010 (July 1, 2009 - June 30, 2010) - 5.3% COLA was supposed to have been effective July 1, 2009. Employees gave this back so no COLA. STEPS were funded

    FY 2011 (July 1, 2010 - June 30, 2011) - No COLA, no STEPS

    FY 2012 (the current FY) - No COLA, No STEPS

    FY 2013 (July 1, 2012 - June 30, 2013) - ??

    All of the above information is from the MCPS salary scales that were in effect in each of the years, and links have been provided for them. It's public info if you do a simple search!

    Any increase in salary for the people listed above came during the first 4 years (FY 2007 to FY 2010) unless of course a person was promoted to a different position.

    No MCPS teachers, administrators, or staff have received a COLA for three consecutive years, and those still eligable for STEP increases have not received one for the past two years. The only ways a person's salary has increased the past 2 years is if they earned a promotion (say from Assistant Principal to Principal) or if they completed a degree allowing them to move from say the Bachelors pay lane to the Masters pay lane.

    Finally, it is inaccurate to compare the number of positions paying $100K in 2006 to the number paying $100K in January 2011 without accounting for inflation.

    I hope this answers questions asked by people above.

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  14. Yes, it is what is being discussed. Every year salaries should be public. This limited snap shot is showing phenomenal raises over these 4 years. The fiscal year is irrelevant to this comparison.
    These numbers don't show a salary "freeze". If they do, they show incredible raises in 1 or 2 years before the "freeze".

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  15. Of course they don't show a salary freeze. Salaries haven't been frozen from 2006 until January of 2011. No one has said salarie were frozen from 2006.

    The last two COLAS MCPS employees received were roughly 5%/year. These were for the 2006-2007 school years and the 2007-2008 school years. MCPS employees have not received COLAS since then.

    Each step is roughly 2-4% increase in salary. Those took place until through and including 2008-2009.

    Since the start of the 2009-10 school year there have been no step increases.

    So again, yes MCPS salaries have risen since 2006. TWo COLAS and three steps, maybe more if the 2006 numbers are from the 2005-06 school year. Do you know when the 2006 numbers are for? 2005-06 school year or 2006-07? That would make a difference in the number of years with COLAS/STEPS.

    And since the start of the 2009-10 school year salaries have been frozen.

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  16. Readers - 1:23PM is not 4:08PM. Different posters.

    These are two different sources putting out alleged budget information.

    But if they are correct, then these MCPS salaries each rose upwards of $20,000 from 2006-2009.

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  17. Hi anonymous, not sure which one I am addressing, I thought someone who commented on this blog said teachers had their wages frozen for 3 years, but now it seems the wages are frozen for '09-'10 and '10-11, is that correct? so that is 2 years, correct? so if there were salary freezes, no COLA, and no step increase in '09-'10 and same for '10-'11, do you mean the increase we see in the data posted in the original blog post with only the 2006 and the 2010 data indicate the jump was from 2006-2009? That is to say, 3 years, rather than 4 years for an employee to get that increase? Or, if salaries have been frozen for 3 years, the jump is from 2006-2008? Thanks. I am still somewhat confused.

    Also, regarding COLAs, I looked at opm.gov and the ssa.gov (social security). There seems to be a one-year discrepancy but the amounts are as follows and explain why you didn't receive COLAs for 2 years. There was no cost of living increase for those years, is why.

    for social security (ssa.gov)
    2005: 4.1%
    2006: 3.3%
    2007: 2.3%
    2008: 5.8%
    2009: 0
    2010: 0
    2011: 3.6%

    for opm (opm.gov)
    2005: 2.7%
    2006: 4.1%
    2007: 3.3%
    2008: 2.3%
    2009: 5.8%
    2010: 0
    2011: 0
    2012: 3.6%

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  18. Again, when in 2006? 2005-2006 or 2006-2007?

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  19. 2006 Database provided at the request of The Washington Examiner by Brian Edwards, Director of Public Information, MCPS

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  20. Anonymous@12/10 8:35pm, and anyone out there in the ether that could help us piece this together, I am not a teacher. When do teachers see their step increases/COLAs/raises? Is it in September? December? January? That would help to straighten this out. Thanks.

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  21. The MCPS fiscal year runs from July 1 - June 30. Teachers report to work in late August and are paid 2 weeks in arrears so the first check of the new fiscal year comes in September. Teachers therefore see any STEP and COLA increases in September. There are exceptions, like if a person was hired mid school year. Such a person would not see a STEP increase until the anniversary of their hiring.

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  22. Nothing "alleged" about the budget info provided here. Sources are cited.

    Not sure what the issue is with the salaries above increasing $20,000 from 2006 - 2009. Using the COLA information provided by the comment at 8:01 pm above, the increase makes perfect sense! Unfortunately the SSA and OPM fiscal years don't perfectly match up to the MCPS fiscal year. For example, the OPM increase in 2007 was 3.3%. MCPS FY 2007 started in July 2006, so half of the MCPS year is in 2006 and the other half in 2007. I guess one could just split the difference when calculating, but for simplicity sake I didn't do that below.

    Using the SSA numbers, the increase from 2006-2009 was 11.8% (don't forget to multiply, not simply add!). Using the OPM numbers, the increase was 16.4%.

    Which employees saw an increase of $20,000? If it was one making $100,000 in 2006, then that employee did well. If it was one making $150,000 in 2006, that employee did well by one measure and not so well by the other measure.

    One must also ask what happened further back in time. Were increases from 2001 - 2005 above, at the same level as, or below those of SSA and OPM?

    The trouble I have with this entire thread is that it's a snapshot and doesn't give consideration to what pay increases for MCPS employees had been before the relatively good increases from 2006-2009. Couple that with absolutely no increases the last two years (FY 2011 and 2012), and it's difficult to see the relevance of this entire thread

    The numbers are for COLA only and does not include any STEP increase the employee might have been eligible for.

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  23. "Not sure what the issue is with the salaries above increasing $20,000 from 2006 - 2009."

    Really? Where do you live?

    Which employees saw $20K jumps? Take your pick, here's just one list:

    http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2011/12/board-adds-5-directors-since-2006_09.html

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  24. I live in Montgomery County, MD.

    Apparently the commenter at 1:45 did not read my entire comment. Considering the inflation figures provided by yet another commenter, there is nothing out of line with a $20,000 increase between 2006 - 2009 for people making in excess of $100,000 in 2006. Take into consideration the fact that it's almost 2012 and said employees have seen a $20,000 increase in now 6 years, it's apparent to all with open eyes that there is no problem here. The increase is totally in line with inflation and is now actually below inflation for the entire 6 year period.

    Let me randomly choose three people who are on both lists that the commenter at 1:45 links. Note that some people received promotions i.e. some were listed as Director I in 2006 and Director II in 2010. You can't choose them as they were promoted. One obviously receives an extra pay increase when one is promoted.

    Choice 1 - Pat Abrunzo Director III on both lists - Salary increased from $127,000 to $146,623, an increase of $19,623 which is a 15.5% increase, totally in line with the OPM figures.

    Choice 2 - Roy Higgins - Director I on both lists - Salary increased from $118,117 to $136,995, an increase of 16%, again in line with the OPM figures.

    Choice 3 - Doreen Heath - Director II on both lists - Salary increased from $125,500 to $145,123, an increase of 15.6%, once again in line with the OPM figures.

    So I ask again; what's the problem with the salary increases for these employees? They're totally in line with OPM inflation figures.

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  25. Well certainly you can't be a MCPS classroom teacher or a media specialist! If you were you would be concerned that administrators are draining classroom and school resources.
    Because during a time when enrollment was fluctuating and then increasing, teachers were being given larger class loads and media specialists were being cut and we now see that administrators were getting significant increases.
    Raises for administrators hardly supports the needs of the MCPS classrooms when teachers see increased class loads and are buying classroom supplies with their personal funds.

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  26. Not only were administrators getting significant increases in salary, the number of administrator positions were increasing while positions such as media specialists (librarians) were decreasing.

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  27. anonymous@7:46pm, let's go back and look at the big picture: over 700 people in MCPS make well over $100k. None of them seem to be teachers. Don't you see any problem with that? People in this county are begging for more teachers. We are not begging for more administrators; we are not begging for more chiefs of staff; we want teachers and we want the best teachers and we are willing to pay them. There is a huge disconnect here.

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