Even before new contract, borough teachers highly paid

By Callum Borchers, Editor

 

NAUGATUCK — An arbitration panel was to announce its decision on the proposed Naugatuck teachers’ contract Wednesday, but regardless of the outcome, borough educators are already in elite financial company.

 

A Citizen’s News examination of salary data provided by the state Department of Education reveals during the 2007-08 school year, the average Naugatuck teacher earned $66,774 — slightly more than the average teacher in affluent communities like Cheshire, Farmington, Glastonbury, Simsbury and South Windsor.

 

The Department of Education uses a classification system, known as district reference groups, to categorize public school systems by their students’ socioeconomic statuses. DRGs take into account such factors as family income, parental education and occupation, and poverty rates. The groups range from A (most affluent) to I.

 

Each of the five towns listed above is a member of DRG B, in which the median family income is $97,210, 59.5 percent of parents hold a college degree, and 3.7 percent of children live in poverty. Naugatuck is a member of DRG G, in which the median family income is $53,931, 20.6 percent of parents hold a college degree, and 31 percent of children live in poverty.

 

Does it make sense that the borough pays its teachers as well or better than these wealthier districts?

 

“That’s a tough question,” Naugatuck Mayor Mike Bronko said. “I just have to say that Naugatuck’s teachers are some of the finest in the state.”

 

“I’m a little surprised [by the numbers],” admitted Naugatuck Board of Education Chair Kathleen Donovan. “But those salaries have allowed us to recruit better teachers.”

 

Among neighboring public school districts in the Naugatuck Valley League, the borough’s average salary in 2007-08 was $5,643 more than the second-highest-paid district, Watertown, and $7,258 more than the NVL average. And of the 17 school systems in DRG G, Naugatuck paid more than all but three; its average salary was $4,162 more than the group G average.

 

One reason Naugatuck’s average salary is comparably high is that 57 percent of its teachers are at the maximum step, meaning they are at the top of the pay scale because of their education and experience levels.

 

“You can’t really go by the average salary because Naugatuck has a lot of teachers on the max step,” said attorney Roseann Padula, who was the borough’s chief legal counsel during contract arbitration. “That skews the data.”

 

Donovan echoed Padula’s analysis, adding “I don’t think we generally pay higher than other [nearby] towns.”

 

Education officials in those nearby towns were reluctant to comment on Naugatuck’s teacher spending. Torrington Board of Education Chairman Paul Cavagnero, whose town is a member of both the NVL and DRG G, gave a diplomatic, “You won’t get me on the record throwing mud at another BOE.”

 

Torrington’s average teacher salary was $7,188 less than Naugatuck’s in 2007-08.

 

Wolcott Board of Education business manager Todd Bendtsen, who negotiated that town’s four-year teachers’ contract two years ago, didn’t share an opinion of Naugatuck’s spending either. But he did discuss the numbers on which Wolcott’s salaries are based.

 

“Typically, we look at averages for the area and the state,” Bendtsen said. “We also look at DRG F [of which Wolcott is a member] and use that as a barometer.”

 

Wolcott paid its teachers an average of $57,853 in 2007-08.

 

Bendtsen added there are some numbers that do not factor in to teacher salaries — namely, standardized test scores. Bronko said he agrees it would be unfair to pay teachers according to student performance on the Connecticut Mastery Test and the Connecticut Academic Performance Test.

 

“I can’t say they should be paid on scores, no,” Bronko said.

 

That’s a good thing for borough educators, since the district failed to meet federal No Child Left Behind goals in six straight academic years from 2001-02 to 2006-07. Naugatuck Public Schools did satisfy NCLB requirements in 2007-08, but five of the district’s 11 schools remain on the state Department of Education’s “in need of improvement list.”

 

No matter what other towns pay or how borough students fare on standardized tests, Naugatuck High School Principal Fran Serratore believes teachers’ wages are well-earned.

 

“Let me tell you something, our teachers deserve every penny,” he said.

 

Burgess Robert Neth, who voted against the proposed teachers’ contract in January, says that may be true, but taxpayers can’t afford a penny more.

 

“You’ve got to be out of your mind to want a raise right now,” Neth said. “I’ve been either on the finance board or a burgess for 20 years, and I don’t ever recall teachers taking a zero [increase]….I’m not saying teachers don’t deserve a raise, but now is not the time.”