by Allison Ross , @allisonSross –
Jefferson County Public Schools said Tuesday that it has discovered that a controversial salary study that was released in April has a major mistake that made it seem that the district was paying a lot more in “premium” salaries than it is.
In April, the state’s largest school district released information from an outside contractor that said in part that JCPS was paying between $52 million and $66 million in “premium” salaries for certified administrators and classified staff – non-teachers – when compared to similar school districts around the country.
But on Tuesday, Superintendent Donna Hargens said that Virginia-based Management Advisory Group International Inc., which conducted the salary study, had “grossly overestimated” the salaries that JCPS paid to non-teacher employees compared to other benchmark school districts.
Instead of spending $50 million or more in “premium” salaries for non-teachers, the figure is closer to $10 million to $14 million, Hargens told the school board Tuesday.
“To say that this district is outraged is an understatement,” Hargens said. “This study caused employees to feel unvalued and underappreciated. It also caused significant stress between employees at different levels. A $40-million mistake by MAG is unacceptable. MAG owes the district, its employees, this board and this community an apology.”.
The release of the salary study in April —as well as a district discussion about the idea of not giving step raises or cost of living increases in the 2016-17 school year for any employee making more than $14 an hour as “market reconciliation” — caused immediate outrage among JCPS employees and others in the community.
JCPS employees staged massive “walk-ins” at numerous district schools in the springto show their outrage over the salary study and other issues.
JCPS paid MAG $192,000 for the salary study. It is unclear whether JCPS will be getting any refund. The salary study began in December 2014 and was made public in April 2016.
Hargens on Tuesday referenced communication between the district and an attorney for MAG — even quoting part of a letter from MAG’s attorney that she said showed that MAG takes responsibility for the error.
A JCPS spokeswoman on Tuesday evening said she did not immediately have a copy of the letter that Hargens referenced.
“We are exploring our legal options regarding MAG,” spokeswoman Allison Martin said.
JCPS has known about the error since January, Chief Financial Officer Cordelia Hardin said, saying that the district has been going back and forth with MAG since.
When asked if the error was contained to non-teacher salaries, Hardin said she wasn’t sure and that her focus was on the non-teacher part of the study.
“We’re not going to make any changes based strictly on that report,” Hardin said.
Board member Chris Kolb noted that “prominent voices in our community” have been using the numbers in the salary study to push for policy changes — an apparent reference to former board chairman David Jones Jr., who has been saying JCPS could free up money for roughly 1,000 more teachers or employees by revamping JCPS’ salary structure.
Board chairman Chris Brady said that he is “deeply disappointed” to learn of the mistake, saying he believes it did “real damage” in the district. He thanked the district for finding the error.
However, Brady said that a salary study was needed for the district, which had not had such a comprehensive compensation review since 1979.
Brady said the district is looking at its options in its contract with MAG, but noted that “it may cost more than it’s worth to seek some kind of restitution.”
Brady said he was “almost not surprised” by the discovery of the error, because the numbers in the salary study didn’t seem right to him.
Brent McKim, president of the county’s teachers union, had the same sentiment, saying he had long been saying that it didn’t seem feasible that JCPS was so significantly paying employees above the averages of comparable markets.
“The math just didn’t make sense for $50 million,” McKim said. He added that “What’s surprising is they make an error this big and take this long to find it. … This has disrupted many people’s lives and caused a great deal of stress.”
Reporter Allison Ross can be reached at 502-582-4241. Follow the Courier-Journal’s education team at Facebook.com/SchooledCJ.
