The following statement has been issued by the Washington Parish School Board regarding employee compensation. It was released early Friday morning following last night's school board meeting. Era-leader.com will post an article about the meeting shortly.
WPSB statement follows:
The Washington Parish School board adopted two significant measures Thursday night, resulting in an historic investment of $4 million directly into the pockets of school system employees. The Board actions will provide employee stipends in December and also fund permanent increases beginning in the new fiscal year, 2024-25.
“This is an unprecedented investment for our school system and clearly demonstrates the Board’s commitment and value for all employees,” stated Board President Dr. John Wyble. “I am encouraged through our commitment to work together with an employee compensation committee to review the finances and personnel structure of our system as we continue to search for additional ways to fund future permanent increases.”
The plan was made possible, in part, through the leadership and support of Louisiana’s Superintendent of Education, Dr. Cade Brumley, and his team in Baton Rouge.
“Dr. Brumley was on top of the situation from the very beginning and offered guidance that ultimately helped us come to a resolution. I cannot thank him and his team enough for their immediate assistance and professionalism.”
“The work is far from done,” concluded Wyble. “The sign of a successful negotiation is when everyone benefits, but at the same time, everyone also feels somewhat frustrated with the outcome. That is why it is a compromise. We have a lot more work to be done and I am glad to see we will do that work together through this employee committee. It is the most transparent opportunity going forward.”
The two measures approved are the latest steps in a series of efforts by the Board to address employee compensation. Last spring, with 3 of 9 board members being newly elected, a financial advisor addressed options for possible funding for pay increases. In May of this year, the Board held a retreat that included a discussion with Principals and shared that employee pay was the top priority for all board members.
A memo to all employees, sent electronically on July 27, stated that Board members and the administration was working on plans to address employee compensation and meetings would be held on each campus no later than September of this year. In August, Board President Wyble requested federal funds be redirected for one-time stipends for employees. The staff was researching options to do so. These actions follow a failed attempt by some board members in the spring of 2022 to increase employee compensation.
