School Board Votes To Allow Pay Cuts

Salary Protection Benefit Is Suspended

The Fairfax County School Board paved the way for employee salary reductions last night, voting to suspend a policy that would have protected many from pay cuts next year.

The policy, known as redlining, was created in the mid-1980s to ease the transition for employees who were involuntarily moved into lower-level jobs by allowing them to maintain their higher salaries or longer contracts for two years.

The School Board voted 11 to 1 to suspend the benefit starting Jan. 1 and extending to June 30, 2011, when they plan to revisit it. James L. Raney (At Large) voted against the change.

"In normal times, it's a very nice benefit for our employees, but these are far from normal times," said Kevin North, assistant superintendent for human resources.

School officials estimate that the change could save $3.3 million in fiscal 2010 as they redesign programs, eliminate positions and offer some employees shorter or lower-paying contracts.

More than 1,000 employees could be affected, including school psychologists and social workers who go from a 219-day contract to a 199-day contract, assistant principals who return to teaching positions or central office employees who take lower-level jobs. Some teachers who are paid extra to work longer days in high-poverty schools could see their salaries trimmed.

Superintendent Jack D. Dale will release his proposed budget Jan. 8. Budget decisions will not be finalized until spring.

Teachers have been bracing for a lean year with no cost of living increase and the prospect of higher class sizes and less support.

Leonard Bumbaca, president of the Fairfax Education Association, told the School Board that he feared that the policy would disproportionately harm teachers who work many hours beyond their contracts.

It's a relatively unusual approach for area school systems, although Arlington County schools have a similar policy. Board members said they hoped the policy change could help them avoid layoffs.

School Board Vice Chairman Kathy L. Smith said that, given a $200 million budget shortfall, the move was "prudent."

We need to "look at the big picture . . . and preserve as much as we can in the budget," she said.