Board Meeting to Focus on Teachers’ Pay
Parents and teachers are expected to crowd a Newport-Mesa Unified School District board meeting tonight to urge pay raises for instructors.
Teacher salaries in the district are among the lowest in Orange County, said Linda Mook, director of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers. “We have sunk really low in the last five years,†she said.
According to a recent survey by the Orange County Department of Education, a teacher with only a bachelor’s degree earns about $28,148 at Newport-Mesa. A teacher with a similar educational background earns up to $44,675 at Los Alamitos Unified School District. Only teachers in the Orange Unified School District earn less than Newport-Mesa teachers at that level.
Even the most experienced teachers at Newport-Mesa earn less than counterparts in other districts, according to the county survey. Teachers with a college degree plus 60 units of graduate work can earn up to $42,443. Again, only one district, Tustin Unified School District, pays its teachers less. Los Alamitos again tops this category, paying such teachers up to $56,172.
In a related issue, district trustees are expected to reject a 20-student limit in third-grade classrooms because of financial constraints.
Board President Martha Fluor said part of the reason the district cannot afford smaller third-grade class sizes is that officials hope to give teachers a reasonable wage increase this year.
The board meets at 7 p.m. in Harper Community Center, 825 E. 18th Street, Costa Mesa. Information: (714) 760-3500.
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