what is going to happen to teachers' salaries next year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where FCPS is really struggling in attracting the young/new teachers. The best new teachers are no longer coming to FCPS. Part of the issue FCPS has is they created this retirement system that attracts and secures teachers on the back end of their career, but new teachers could care less about retirement. They have bills to pay now.

Then they should have proposed targeted raises for young teachers. Or even targeted raises for all teachers. But not big raises for every single employee in the whole system, including well paid admin at central office. It was a lazy budget without any understanding of the economic conditions.

I really find it interesting that FCPS consolidated years 3,4, and 5 on a single pay step given the often cited statistics about teachers leaving the profession at high rates in the first five years. It just seems counterintuitive to do this.

Is that consolidated for current teachers or just for the initial placement steps for those who enter from outside of FCPs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where FCPS is really struggling in attracting the young/new teachers. The best new teachers are no longer coming to FCPS. Part of the issue FCPS has is they created this retirement system that attracts and secures teachers on the back end of their career, but new teachers could care less about retirement. They have bills to pay now.

Then they should have proposed targeted raises for young teachers. Or even targeted raises for all teachers. But not big raises for every single employee in the whole system, including well paid admin at central office. It was a lazy budget without any understanding of the economic conditions.

I really find it interesting that FCPS consolidated years 3,4, and 5 on a single pay step given the often cited statistics about teachers leaving the profession at high rates in the first five years. It just seems counterintuitive to do this.

Is that consolidated for current teachers or just for the initial placement steps for those who enter from outside of FCPs?

It means that for 3 years steps were frozen. A teacher who entered in 2020ish (don't come for me, I'm too tired to figure out the actual calendar years) didn't get a step increase in 2021 or 2022, so for that period of time 1,2,3 year teachers all made exactly the same amount of money. Now, 3/4/5 year teachers are all making the same amount of money. To make it "fair" (and to discourage leaving FCPS for 1 year and coming back) any outside hire who has 3-5 years experience is placed on that same step that teachers who stayed the whole time are on.

You will see it several places in the pay scale. Those are how many times steps were frozen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where FCPS is really struggling in attracting the young/new teachers. The best new teachers are no longer coming to FCPS. Part of the issue FCPS has is they created this retirement system that attracts and secures teachers on the back end of their career, but new teachers could care less about retirement. They have bills to pay now.

Then they should have proposed targeted raises for young teachers. Or even targeted raises for all teachers. But not big raises for every single employee in the whole system, including well paid admin at central office. It was a lazy budget without any understanding of the economic conditions.

I really find it interesting that FCPS consolidated years 3,4, and 5 on a single pay step given the often cited statistics about teachers leaving the profession at high rates in the first five years. It just seems counterintuitive to do this.

The consolidated steps represent step freezes, they are not consolidated by design. Each step that is grouped with another step represents one year that a step freeze was instituted.

And those on the higher end of the teacher scale deserve an increase just as much as those on the lower end. Not only have those teachers experienced a number of step freezes over the years, but there is often extra unpaid work involved with being a veteran teacher (mentoring, team leader, chairing committees, etc.) that should be recognized.

Oh, I don't disagree about the value of senior teachers being recognized and appropriately compensated. I also see that the consolidated step 3 for SY 25/26 is now years 4,5,6 rather than 3,4,5. Is step 3 just going to continue to follow this cohort of teachers for a certain time period, then? Trying to understand this and how it relates to previous years step freezes if the band continues to move.

Yes, unfortunately that cluster follows the cohort because frozen steps are never given back. Leadership has said that it’s impossible to figure out how many steps everyone is missing and would be too costly to put everyone on the correct step. That means they just consolidate steps each time there is a freeze. So next year, for example, a teacher with 25 years of experience (in their 26th
year) will be on step 21.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where FCPS is really struggling in attracting the young/new teachers. The best new teachers are no longer coming to FCPS. Part of the issue FCPS has is they created this retirement system that attracts and secures teachers on the back end of their career, but new teachers could care less about retirement. They have bills to pay now.

Then they should have proposed targeted raises for young teachers. Or even targeted raises for all teachers. But not big raises for every single employee in the whole system, including well paid admin at central office. It was a lazy budget without any understanding of the economic conditions.

I really find it interesting that FCPS consolidated years 3,4, and 5 on a single pay step given the often cited statistics about teachers leaving the profession at high rates in the first five years. It just seems counterintuitive to do this.

Is that consolidated for current teachers or just for the initial placement steps for those who enter from outside of FCPs?

It means that for 3 years steps were frozen. A teacher who entered in 2020ish (don't come for me, I'm too tired to figure out the actual calendar years) didn't get a step increase in 2021 or 2022, so for that period of time 1,2,3 year teachers all made exactly the same amount of money. Now, 3/4/5 year teachers are all making the same amount of money. To make it "fair" (and to discourage leaving FCPS for 1 year and coming back) any outside hire who has 3-5 years experience is placed on that same step that teachers who stayed the whole time are on.

You will see it several places in the pay scale. Those are how many times steps were frozen.

I think the plateaus are only for where they do initial placements for those coming from elsewhere. If you look at prepay scales that’s what they are. That doesn’t mean current employees are dozen on that step.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where FCPS is really struggling in attracting the young/new teachers. The best new teachers are no longer coming to FCPS. Part of the issue FCPS has is they created this retirement system that attracts and secures teachers on the back end of their career, but new teachers could care less about retirement. They have bills to pay now.

FCPS also has a reputation for how teachers are treated. One young teacher I knew who was amazing left in her third year for Arlington. She said FCPS made her feel insignificant and like a number-said she felt like she could not be effective in a county like FCPS. She's not wrong. Between parents and obnoxious gatehouse~ teachers are made to feel like they don't matter. FCPS has a lot of work to do and unfortunately this superintendent seems in over her head...or maybe FCPS is just too big.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where FCPS is really struggling in attracting the young/new teachers. The best new teachers are no longer coming to FCPS. Part of the issue FCPS has is they created this retirement system that attracts and secures teachers on the back end of their career, but new teachers could care less about retirement. They have bills to pay now.

Then they should have proposed targeted raises for young teachers. Or even targeted raises for all teachers. But not big raises for every single employee in the whole system, including well paid admin at central office. It was a lazy budget without any understanding of the economic conditions.

I really find it interesting that FCPS consolidated years 3,4, and 5 on a single pay step given the often cited statistics about teachers leaving the profession at high rates in the first five years. It just seems counterintuitive to do this.

Is that consolidated for current teachers or just for the initial placement steps for those who enter from outside of FCPs?

It means that for 3 years steps were frozen. A teacher who entered in 2020ish (don't come for me, I'm too tired to figure out the actual calendar years) didn't get a step increase in 2021 or 2022, so for that period of time 1,2,3 year teachers all made exactly the same amount of money. Now, 3/4/5 year teachers are all making the same amount of money. To make it "fair" (and to discourage leaving FCPS for 1 year and coming back) any outside hire who has 3-5 years experience is placed on that same step that teachers who stayed the whole time are on.

You will see it several places in the pay scale. Those are how many times steps were frozen.

I think the plateaus are only for where they do initial placements for those coming from elsewhere. If you look at prepay scales that’s what they are. That doesn’t mean current employees are dozen on that step.

* previous

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where FCPS is really struggling in attracting the young/new teachers. The best new teachers are no longer coming to FCPS. Part of the issue FCPS has is they created this retirement system that attracts and secures teachers on the back end of their career, but new teachers could care less about retirement. They have bills to pay now.

Then they should have proposed targeted raises for young teachers. Or even targeted raises for all teachers. But not big raises for every single employee in the whole system, including well paid admin at central office. It was a lazy budget without any understanding of the economic conditions.

I really find it interesting that FCPS consolidated years 3,4, and 5 on a single pay step given the often cited statistics about teachers leaving the profession at high rates in the first five years. It just seems counterintuitive to do this.

Is that consolidated for current teachers or just for the initial placement steps for those who enter from outside of FCPs?

It means that for 3 years steps were frozen. A teacher who entered in 2020ish (don't come for me, I'm too tired to figure out the actual calendar years) didn't get a step increase in 2021 or 2022, so for that period of time 1,2,3 year teachers all made exactly the same amount of money. Now, 3/4/5 year teachers are all making the same amount of money. To make it "fair" (and to discourage leaving FCPS for 1 year and coming back) any outside hire who has 3-5 years experience is placed on that same step that teachers who stayed the whole time are on.

You will see it several places in the pay scale. Those are how many times steps were frozen.

I think the plateaus are only for where they do initial placements for those coming from elsewhere. If you look at prepay scales that’s what they are. That doesn’t mean current employees are dozen on that step.

Yes, it applies to current employees. Next year will be my 15th year in FCPS and I will still be on step 11. I had my steps frozen 4 times.

https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY26-teacher-195-day-draft.pdf

If two years from now they give a step, I will have 16 years of experience and be on step 12. If they don't give a step in 2 years, I'll be on step 11 still.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where FCPS is really struggling in attracting the young/new teachers. The best new teachers are no longer coming to FCPS. Part of the issue FCPS has is they created this retirement system that attracts and secures teachers on the back end of their career, but new teachers could care less about retirement. They have bills to pay now.

FCPS also has a reputation for how teachers are treated. One young teacher I knew who was amazing left in her third year for Arlington. She said FCPS made her feel insignificant and like a number-said she felt like she could not be effective in a county like FCPS. She's not wrong. Between parents and obnoxious gatehouse~ teachers are made to feel like they don't matter. FCPS has a lot of work to do and unfortunately this superintendent seems in over her head...or maybe FCPS is just too big.

Both of these things can be true at the same time. And darents don't feel any differently than teachers, other than that parents aren't willing to pay even higher taxes to fund a 7% salary increase when overall they've seen how little return for their money they get from their tax dollars.

Leave for greener pastures if you must. Maybe it will force them to hire someone better than Reid or break the county into more manageable, less bureaucratic pieces. But as long as I'm expected to pay higher taxes to fund unnecessary crap like Dunn Loring ES and an expansion of Centreville HS to a ridiculous 3000 seats, while other schools like Herndon HS have hundreds of empty seats, I'm going to advocate that they hold the line on the property tax rate.

[Anonymous]

We should make teachers' salaries tax-free. I think I'd be a great teacher and consider it for my second act, but the salary is nothing after taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We should make teachers' salaries tax-free. I think I'd be a great teacher and consider it for my second act, but the salary is nothing after taxes.

Oh your majesty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where FCPS is really struggling in attracting the young/new teachers. The best new teachers are no longer coming to FCPS. Part of the issue FCPS has is they created this retirement system that attracts and secures teachers on the back end of their career, but new teachers could care less about retirement. They have bills to pay now.

Then they should have proposed targeted raises for young teachers. Or even targeted raises for all teachers. But not big raises for every single employee in the whole system, including well paid admin at central office. It was a lazy budget without any understanding of the economic conditions.

I really find it interesting that FCPS consolidated years 3,4, and 5 on a single pay step given the often cited statistics about teachers leaving the profession at high rates in the first five years. It just seems counterintuitive to do this.

Is that consolidated for current teachers or just for the initial placement steps for those who enter from outside of FCPs?

It means that for 3 years steps were frozen. A teacher who entered in 2020ish (don't come for me, I'm too tired to figure out the actual calendar years) didn't get a step increase in 2021 or 2022, so for that period of time 1,2,3 year teachers all made exactly the same amount of money. Now, 3/4/5 year teachers are all making the same amount of money. To make it "fair" (and to discourage leaving FCPS for 1 year and coming back) any outside hire who has 3-5 years experience is placed on that same step that teachers who stayed the whole time are on.

You will see it several places in the pay scale. Those are how many times steps were frozen.

I think the plateaus are only for where they do initial placements for those coming from elsewhere. If you look at prepay scales that’s what they are. That doesn’t mean current employees are dozen on that step.

Yes, it applies to current employees. Next year will be my 15th year in FCPS and I will still be on step 11. I had my steps frozen 4 times.

https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY26-teacher-195-day-draft.pdf

If two years from now they give a step, I will have 16 years of experience and be on step 12. If they don't give a step in 2 years, I'll be on step 11 still.

That chart shows the initial placement of a new hire from outside of FCPS. It says it at the top in red. It doesn’t show where a current teacher falls in relation to years experience. The pay scale isn’t even filled in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where FCPS is really struggling in attracting the young/new teachers. The best new teachers are no longer coming to FCPS. Part of the issue FCPS has is they created this retirement system that attracts and secures teachers on the back end of their career, but new teachers could care less about retirement. They have bills to pay now.

Then they should have proposed targeted raises for young teachers. Or even targeted raises for all teachers. But not big raises for every single employee in the whole system, including well paid admin at central office. It was a lazy budget without any understanding of the economic conditions.

I really find it interesting that FCPS consolidated years 3,4, and 5 on a single pay step given the often cited statistics about teachers leaving the profession at high rates in the first five years. It just seems counterintuitive to do this.

Is that consolidated for current teachers or just for the initial placement steps for those who enter from outside of FCPs?

It means that for 3 years steps were frozen. A teacher who entered in 2020ish (don't come for me, I'm too tired to figure out the actual calendar years) didn't get a step increase in 2021 or 2022, so for that period of time 1,2,3 year teachers all made exactly the same amount of money. Now, 3/4/5 year teachers are all making the same amount of money. To make it "fair" (and to discourage leaving FCPS for 1 year and coming back) any outside hire who has 3-5 years experience is placed on that same step that teachers who stayed the whole time are on.

You will see it several places in the pay scale. Those are how many times steps were frozen.

I think the plateaus are only for where they do initial placements for those coming from elsewhere. If you look at prepay scales that’s what they are. That doesn’t mean current employees are dozen on that step.

Yes, it applies to current employees. Next year will be my 15th year in FCPS and I will still be on step 11. I had my steps frozen 4 times.

https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY26-teacher-195-day-draft.pdf

If two years from now they give a step, I will have 16 years of experience and be on step 12. If they don't give a step in 2 years, I'll be on step 11 still.

That chart shows the initial placement of a new hire from outside of FCPS. It says it at the top in red. It doesn’t show where a current teacher falls in relation to years experience. The pay scale isn’t even filled in

How many teachers have to say it? That is where new teachers start because THAT IS WHERE CURRENT TEACHERS ARE. It absolutely matches the level for current teachers.

Next year’s salaries aren’t filled in because the salary hasn’t been decided yet. That will (likely) be decided at the next meeting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where FCPS is really struggling in attracting the young/new teachers. The best new teachers are no longer coming to FCPS. Part of the issue FCPS has is they created this retirement system that attracts and secures teachers on the back end of their career, but new teachers could care less about retirement. They have bills to pay now.

Then they should have proposed targeted raises for young teachers. Or even targeted raises for all teachers. But not big raises for every single employee in the whole system, including well paid admin at central office. It was a lazy budget without any understanding of the economic conditions.

I really find it interesting that FCPS consolidated years 3,4, and 5 on a single pay step given the often cited statistics about teachers leaving the profession at high rates in the first five years. It just seems counterintuitive to do this.

Is that consolidated for current teachers or just for the initial placement steps for those who enter from outside of FCPs?

It means that for 3 years steps were frozen. A teacher who entered in 2020ish (don't come for me, I'm too tired to figure out the actual calendar years) didn't get a step increase in 2021 or 2022, so for that period of time 1,2,3 year teachers all made exactly the same amount of money. Now, 3/4/5 year teachers are all making the same amount of money. To make it "fair" (and to discourage leaving FCPS for 1 year and coming back) any outside hire who has 3-5 years experience is placed on that same step that teachers who stayed the whole time are on.

You will see it several places in the pay scale. Those are how many times steps were frozen.

I think the plateaus are only for where they do initial placements for those coming from elsewhere. If you look at prepay scales that’s what they are. That doesn’t mean current employees are dozen on that step.

Yes, it applies to current employees. Next year will be my 15th year in FCPS and I will still be on step 11. I had my steps frozen 4 times.

https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY26-teacher-195-day-draft.pdf

If two years from now they give a step, I will have 16 years of experience and be on step 12. If they don't give a step in 2 years, I'll be on step 11 still.

That chart shows the initial placement of a new hire from outside of FCPS. It says it at the top in red. It doesn’t show where a current teacher falls in relation to years experience. The pay scale isn’t even filled in

Are you trying to be obtuse or do you just think that you know better than current FCPS employees?

When there is a step freeze, they add another step compression so that a teacher new to FCPS doesn’t wind up getting paid more than a current FCPS teacher with the same experience. Frozen steps are never given back, so that chart does reflect which step a current teacher is on (second column of numbers) based on completed years of experience (first column of numbers).

When the budget is finalized, they will add whatever percentage increase is approved to this year’s salary scale and paste those numbers into the blank 2026 scale that you are looking at.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where FCPS is really struggling in attracting the young/new teachers. The best new teachers are no longer coming to FCPS. Part of the issue FCPS has is they created this retirement system that attracts and secures teachers on the back end of their career, but new teachers could care less about retirement. They have bills to pay now.

Then they should have proposed targeted raises for young teachers. Or even targeted raises for all teachers. But not big raises for every single employee in the whole system, including well paid admin at central office. It was a lazy budget without any understanding of the economic conditions.

I really find it interesting that FCPS consolidated years 3,4, and 5 on a single pay step given the often cited statistics about teachers leaving the profession at high rates in the first five years. It just seems counterintuitive to do this.

Is that consolidated for current teachers or just for the initial placement steps for those who enter from outside of FCPs?

It means that for 3 years steps were frozen. A teacher who entered in 2020ish (don't come for me, I'm too tired to figure out the actual calendar years) didn't get a step increase in 2021 or 2022, so for that period of time 1,2,3 year teachers all made exactly the same amount of money. Now, 3/4/5 year teachers are all making the same amount of money. To make it "fair" (and to discourage leaving FCPS for 1 year and coming back) any outside hire who has 3-5 years experience is placed on that same step that teachers who stayed the whole time are on.

You will see it several places in the pay scale. Those are how many times steps were frozen.

I think the plateaus are only for where they do initial placements for those coming from elsewhere. If you look at prepay scales that’s what they are. That doesn’t mean current employees are dozen on that step.

Yes, it applies to current employees. Next year will be my 15th year in FCPS and I will still be on step 11. I had my steps frozen 4 times.

https://www.fcps.edu/sites/default/files/media/pdf/FY26-teacher-195-day-draft.pdf

If two years from now they give a step, I will have 16 years of experience and be on step 12. If they don't give a step in 2 years, I'll be on step 11 still.

That chart shows the initial placement of a new hire from outside of FCPS. It says it at the top in red. It doesn’t show where a current teacher falls in relation to years experience. The pay scale isn’t even filled in

How many teachers have to say it? That is where new teachers start because THAT IS WHERE CURRENT TEACHERS ARE. It absolutely matches the level for current teachers.

Next year’s salaries aren’t filled in because the salary hasn’t been decided yet. That will (likely) be decided at the next meeting.

+1
DCUM always seems to know better.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes, the County did agreements with police and firefighters that were connected to reality and available funds. FCPS entered into an agreement that didn’t remotely take available money into account. It’s such a failure on Reid’s part. She has screwed up two budgets and one collective bargaining so far. Not to mention all the other scandals like Hayfield.

Meanwhile the schools are getting another big increase in the transfer from the county this year. I really hope they use it to target raises to teachers and other student-facing jobs, not every employee like Reid put in her budget.

Got it, ten percent for firefighters and police is reality, but 7% for teachers isn't.

What cuts has FCPS proposed? Number of students is trending down in FCPS

The number of special education students sure isn’t trending down. The number of special education teachers is though.