Can Coos Bay save money with a wage freeze?
Question: I want to know how much the Coos Bay School District would save if everyone in the district took a wage freeze, including the superintendent, administrators, certified and classified staff. Answer: It’s hard to say how much the district would benefit from a wage freeze. Certified and classified employees are negotiating new contracts and no raises are currently budgeted. And Business Manager Rod Danielson said it is a misnomer to say that holding wages steady would save money. “A pay freeze doesn’t save any money. It keeps expenses from increasing,” said Danielson. That being the case, he said a 1 percent hike in salaries would increase district costs by about $103,000 for certified employees; $45,000 for classified employees; and $17,000 for administrators, including the superintendent. In the past, the district usually provides a raise of between 2 and 3 percent to its employee groups, Danielson said. If next year’s budget included a 2 percent hike, the district would have
