In 2017-18 school year employees in LRSD received a $1,000 bonus.  Prior to that the last salary increase that provided a percentage increase was a 3% for the 2013/2014 school year. It should be noted that as a result of budget reductions due to the loss of desegregation funding all employees had a loss of pay due to a reduction of days on their contract and having to pay a greater share of their health benefits.  

This past state election also had the state approve minimum salary increases for classified employees.  Numerous LRSD staff will be impacted by this vote.  Employees who earned below $10.00 an hour will now get a bump.  The employees who were under that cap included employees from the following employee groups- bus drivers, child nutrition, custodians, and security.  

All eligible employees will receive an annual experience step increase.

Each year the Little Rock School District and the Little Rock Education Association negotiate on language for the Professional Negotiated Agreement and for consideration of salary adjustments.  This year the salary negotiations began in the Spring and we have reached agreement on a proposed salary increase for teachers for the 2019-20 school year as detailed below. 

All teachers will see an increase of $1,135.00 across the board, which is equal to approximately a 3% increase in the starting teacher salary.  This increase is made possible by Gov. Hutchinson’s commitment to enhancing teacher salaries and the passage of the Teacher Salary Enhancement Act, HB 1145.  This increase creates an estimated on-going commitment of $2,621,275 and will raise starting teacher salaries from $34,865 to $36,000. 

LRSD and LREA had hoped to map out a three-year projection of salary increases with an intended target of $41,000 for teachers with a BA.  That target could not be met with confidence due to three key reasons.  One, we have to ensure that budget reductions for 2019-20 are realized.  We are uncertain about future student enrollment.  Finally, we are concerned about the potential loss of revenue as a result of Walmart asking for an amended tax valuation for their properties in Pulaski County.  The request by Walmart will reduce LRSD’s revenue for 2019-20 by $1.3 million dollars while this issue gets settled. 

As a result of the passage of HB 1145 this salary increase is cost neutral for the 2019-20 school year.  The on-going commitment for LRSD is approximately $2,621,275. 

The key element of evaluation is whether LRSD can meet the on-going salary increase with this proposal.  The administration does believe that is possible.  We will plan to present a balanced budget for 2019-20 and we have historically received a 3% revenue increase from property assessments.