Board of Education approves mandated teacher raises as system feels constraints of inflation

While teachers in Vestavia Hills City Schools are typically paid above what the state mandates teachers be paid, Superintendent Todd Freeman said this year, he recommended the board only approve the state-mandated 4% raise, instead of taking its normal course and giving even higher raises.

“We are experiencing uncertainties with economic conditions,” Freeman said.

All teachers will receive a 4% raise, with 20 teachers set to receive slightly above that to ensure they stay at the state’s minimum salary matrix for their respective position, following changes to the state salary schedule, Freeman told the board at the June 27 meeting.

The board is anticipating a 10% increase in utility costs and custodial supplies, increasing fuel and food costs as well as a 25 to 29% increase in risk management insurance.

“I’d wish for us to be able to do more,” Freeman said. “But this is the most financially responsible thing we can do at this point.”

About 81% of the school system’s budget accounts for personnel, Freeman said, and he plans to evaluate more raises next year.

In an update to the board, Assistant Superintendent of Operations and Services Patrick Martin and Vestavia Hills police Capt. Shane Ware talked about safety and security in the schools, in wake of the deadly attack at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church on June 16 and the earlier summer attack on an elementary school in Uvalde, which left 21 people dead, including 19 children.

“Let me reassure each of you that the safety and security of Vestavia Hills City Schools is one of the highest priorities of the Police Department,” Ware said. “We take our relationship with the school system extremely seriously.”

Ware said police are trained to go instantly to a threat and to not hesitate when engaging with that threat. Each officer, he said, is trained to neutralize a threat as well.

Martin said each school facility was assessed, along with the school system’s safety plans and procedures, in 2020. The assessment helped indicate where the school system had weaknesses or flaws in their safety plan, he said, allowing system leaders to make necessary changes to keep students safe.

In addition to a working relationship with the Police Department and updated safety plans, each school in the system has at least one school resource officer, Martin said.

In other news, the board approved two leases of the soon-to-be former Civic Center space. The building, which sits adjacent to the Board of Education, will come under the management of the school system once the city moves out into the new Civic Center. The space currently hosts the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce and recreation activities.

The school system will lease 500 square feet back to the city of Vestavia Hills for $1,000 per year, with the space dedicated for storage of sports equipment. Another lease with Vestavia Hills Soccer Club was also approved, allowing the club to use 1,000 square feet of space for offices and storage at a monthly rate of $1,000.

In a brief update on retention success, Freeman pointed board members to a chart that showed retention numbers for certified employees. In the 2021-22 school year, more than 90% of counselors, librarians and teachers were retained, along with all assistant principals. Seventy-eight percent of principals remained. Fourteen certified employees retired.

The board also approved the evaluations of both Freeman and Chief Schools Financial Officer Courtney Brown, who each received nearly perfect average scores on their annual evaluations.