Calendar selection and Salary decrease

[Erin Cook]

Dear LAPS School Board Members, 

I would like to express my concern over the 188 day schedule and the 195 day schedule and how that affects teachers income. 

Here is the number breakdown as I understand it. 

The school has proposed going back to a 188 day schedule, which we are all very happy about, but there will be a detrimental hit to the income of our teachers. 

Currently the teacher pay is based on a 195 day calendar. Below is what a certified staff member will suffer if the school district deducts these days without keeping our current salaries, and basing it on a daily rate as they do now. 

First the time:

188 days @ 6.5 hours a day = 1222 hours over the school year

188 days @ 6.2 hours a day = 1175 hours over the school year

195 days @ 6.2 hours a day = 1218.75 hours over the school year

195 days @ 6.5 hours a day = 1267.5 hours over the school year 

(current) 195 days @ 5.9 hours a day = 1150.5 hours for the school year 

As you can see above no matter what schedule the district chooses, the hours of face time with students over the course of the year will be MORE than it was this year.  Considering this, cutting 7 days from the schedule still has us working more for a proposed pay cut. 

How salaries will be affected: 

Certified Staff Example:

1. $63,524 annual gross income for 2023-2024 school year / 195 contract days = $325.76 daily rate.

2. $325.76 daily rate x 188 contract days = $61,243 gross annual income on a 188 day contract.

3. $63,524 current gross salary - $61,243 potential gross salary = $2,281. 

This employee would make $2,281 less in annual gross income in the 2024-2025 school year if our district eliminated 7 contract days, dropping from 195 to 188 contract days.

Other important pieces of information that will also impact pay are the NM Legislature's 3% raise and the forthcoming 15.5% NMPSIA Insurance increase on top of the increase in cost of living that we are all feeling. 

Also please consider married couples that work for our schools.  This drop in pay will be double for them with more time spent in the classroom than we had this year. 

So, while 188 days would be wonderful to stay out of the months of June and July, unless the district can make the salaries we currently have carry over to the 188 day calendar, and make any amount of days above that 188 paid at our daily rate, I do not see how any stakeholder can justify this drop in salary. 

--

Erin Cook 

(she, her, hers)
6th Grade ELA 
Instructional Warrior
Mountain Elementary
Los Alamos Public Schools
(505) 663-2325

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