CMS market raises reach $17,000 a year

"Market adjustment"  raises for 254 salaried Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools employees will range from $180.95 to $17,201.60 a year,  according to a summary CMS sent Thursday evening.  About 5,800 hourly workers will get raises that range from $5.16 to $1,040 a year.

Those raises will be in addition to the 3 percent across-the-board raises that got so much attention during budget talks.  They're based on a 2007 study comparing CMS pay with what people were making in comparable jobs. The school board approved a plan to make wages more competitive,  but the recession stalled those adjustments shortly after the first round of pay bumps in 2008.

The obvious questions: How many people are getting a $17,000 raise, who are they, and why that amount?

I don't know yet.

After the school board approved a raise plan Tuesday night that included the market adjustments,  I requested a list of positions eligible for the market bumps and a range of those raises.

CMS is on a four-day summer schedule,  and spokeswoman Tahira Stalberte sent the summary 20 minutes before offices closed for the week.  She said she knew I'd ask about the upper range,  but couldn't get an answer before everyone dispersed.  A more detailed breakdown will take more time to compile, she said.
(Update 1:30 p.m.: Stalberte just called to say employees haven't been notified of their market adjustments, pending a final decision on the state budget and the county raise money, so CMS can't release specifics yet.  I guess someone has a nice surprise coming!)

Here's what I know:  Teachers and other certified staff,  executive staff and school board members are not getting market raises.  Human Resources Chief Daniel Habrat said at the meeting that most of the 254 salaried staff who will get those raises are assistant principals.  Other salaried job categories CMS lists as getting market raises are administrative assistant, administrator, analyst, assistant director, coordinator, director, engineer, executive director, manager, principal, After School Enrichment Program assistant, recruiter, specialist, supervisor and "other exempt staff" ("exempt" is HR-speak for non-hourly workers).

The length of time a salaried employee has been in the job determines how close CMS will get them to the "market value" of their job,  with the least experienced landing at 77 percent of market value and those with four years or more getting 98 percent of market value  (read the explanation CMS sent here).

Obviously this begs for more explanation,  and I'll try to get it next week.

During Tuesday's meeting,  Habrat said teacher assistants, bus drivers and cafeteria workers make up the largest group of hourly employees getting market adjustments.  The summary lists 46 positions getting the bumps, including custodians, grounds workers, school resource officers and secretaries.

Meanwhile,  the 3 percent across-the-board raises  --   the first most employees have gotten in four years  --  are scheduled to take effect July 1, with the money showing up in the August paycheck.  However, Gov. Bev Perdue's announcement today that she'll veto the budget approved by legislators throws everything back up in the air.  Stay tuned.