Clovis Unified educators receive 7% pay raise
Clovis Unified employees will receive a 7% raise this school year. The board voted on the proposal Wednesday night.
“Our philosophy has always been that our people are our greatest resource and the reason our students do so well is because of the people around them,” said CUSD Superintendent Eimear O’Brien.
The amount was decided by the Employee Compensation Committee, a group of about 40 CUSD employees from all walks of life. Bill Buettner is on the committee and teaches at Clovis High.
“It’s good, it’s wonderful but everyone’s in the same boat, that inflation really takes off,” Buettner said.
He says 7% is a good start.
“I’m happy with the percentage and I know there’s more to come,” Buettner added.
This upcoming additional amount represents $12.8 million that the district will also have available this school year to make some salaries more competitive.
Some say that’s still not enough, like the Clovis Educators Association.
“Unfortunately, 7% is not enough to close the gap that Clovis Unified educators are experiencing compared to other districts,” said Clovis Educators Association spokeswoman Kristin Heimerdinger. “We are now among the lowest paid educators in the region.”
“We’ve never been the highest paid district in the world and the reason for that is we’re the lowest paid district in the county,” O’Brien said. “We have always strived to be as competitive as possible given our limited resources.”
The salary increase will take effect on July 1. Meanwhile, the Clovis Educators Association is asking the board to require the district to develop a 3-5 year plan to close the wage gap.
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