By CRISTINA JANNEY
Hays Post

The Hays USD 489 school board directed staff during its meeting Monday night to develop a new pay schedule for classified staff.

The school board received a classified wage study from the Docking Institute at Fort Hays State University Monday night.

The study found several classes of USD 489 employees are not making as much as their peers.

These included building secretaries, office assistants and clerical workers, and information technology assistants.

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Board member Lance Bickle asked if the study took into account benefit packages.

Board member Mike Walker is the director of the Docking Institute. He said he did not do the study himself, but said he knew the study did not include benefits.

Superintendent John Thissen also pointed out the study focused on starting wages only.

The USD 489 does not have a wage schedule for classified staff at this time. Thissen said the district could address the issue of wages by only addressing starting wages for those staff who are below the peer average.

However, he said creating a new pay schedule would address the issue longer term, but would require more time and money.

“You don’t have the bus driver who has been here 18 years and is being paid $10 and the other bus driver who is just hired getting paid $14 an hour,” Thissen said. “Even with the bus driver [pay increase] that was done two years ago, that does not answer the issue over time. You are still going to have the same issue 10, 20 years from now where you are going to have bus drivers making $14 and it is not putting into the thought of worth of experience in their position.”

Bringing wages up in a new pay schedule would probably take the district several years based on the expense required to do so, Thissen said.

Board member Greg Schwartz said he wanted to see options for pay schedules with costs to increase pay on those schedules. He said he would like those numbers as soon as possible considering the district is in negotiations with teachers at this time.

“If you do a schedule and plug them in for a three-year plan or one-year plan, what’s that look like?” he said. “Because if it’s $40,000, that is a lot easier to stomach than if it’s $400,000.”

Keith Hall, interim director of finance, said he will begin work on the schedules, but noted a lot of work would need to go into them and he is still working on the budget for FY20.

He suggested forming a committee to make recommendations on the schedule.