The School of the Osage needs highly qualified employees to accomplish its education mission and must offer competitive compensation to attract and maintain experienced staff. The Board directs the superintendent or designee to annually research regional and statewide trends in employee compensation and consult with district employees to prepare competitive salary schedules and salary recommendations for the Board to consider, within the constraints of the district's finances.

An employee of the district will be compensated in accordance with a Board-approved salary schedule or will receive the amount of compensation approved by the Board for that position or that particular employee. Only the Board has the authority to increase the compensation of an employee or grant that employee an extra-duty position or stipend.

Compensation Considerations

Unless an employee is paid in accordance with a salary schedule, as discussed later in this policy, the compensation of support staff will be made by the Board after consideration of recommendations made by the superintendent or designee. When making compensation recommendations, the superintendent or designee will consider all legal, relevant factors including, but not limited to, the expertise necessary to meet student needs, required training or licenses, experience in the position, current compensation trends for the position in the state or region, the number and quality of applicants available for the position, the district's financial circumstances, and the individual's performance evaluations.

Salary Schedules

The Board may annually adopt salary schedules for the various categories of support staff personnel. Each support staff member will be placed on the appropriate schedule commensurate with, but not limited to, job category and experience with the district. When creating a salary schedule, the Board may recognize characteristics beneficial to the district, such as training, licenses and employment in high-need areas, in addition to traditional factors such as years of experience.

If the Board adopts a salary schedule, the following will apply:

1. Salary schedules and other compensation will be determined along with the district budget by June 30. Any salary schedule adopted by the Board will remain in effect and continue to operate until Board action is taken to change or eliminate the salary schedule.

2. The Board may freeze the operation of the salary schedule when warranted by the financial condition of the district or for other relevant reasons, as determined by the Board. Once a salary schedule is frozen, employees will not advance on the salary schedule until a vote is taken by the Board authorizing movement on the salary schedule.

3. An employee may not advance more than one step vertically and one column horizontally per year on the salary schedule unless such movement is allowed by the rules adopted by the Board and is uniformly applicable to that particular salary schedule or is otherwise approved by the Board.

4. Additional training or licenses obtained after the employee has begun work with the district may not be used to advance on a salary schedule unless the employee had prior administrative approval to participate in the training or obtain the license and count it for advancement on the salary schedule.

5. The district will recognize similar, previous experience of an employee when placing that employee on the salary schedule. The Board delegates to the superintendent or designee the authority to set guidelines on which previous experiences qualify. In addition, the district may recognize military service or work experience that the district considers beneficial to the position. It is the employee's responsibility to fully apprise the district of his or her relevant background when first being employed in the position. Once the employee is initially placed on the salary schedule, the district is under no obligation to review the placement.

Compensation for Extra Duties

Additional duties, such as supervising activities, may be assigned to support staff without additional compensation. In some situations and with Board approval, an employee may be provided extra-duty compensation or a stipend to compensate the employee for performing additional duties. In those situations, the amount of compensation will be determined by the Board and may be set by adopting an extra-duty salary schedule or approving a specific amount for the position.

Employee Responsibility

Employees are responsible for verifying that their salary schedule placement, compensation rate and paychecks are accurate. Employees are required to notify the district within 30 days of receiving an inaccurate payment, and failure to do so could lead to discipline, forfeiture of amounts owed or deductions for excess pay received, as allowed by law.

Compensation Disbursement

In general, support staff will be paid in equal installments over 12 months, even if the employee's regular work schedule is less than 12 months. However, payment for extra duties that are seasonal or limited to a specific timeframe may be paid in the month the work was performed.

AC PROHIBITION AGAINST ILLEGAL DISCRIMINATION, HARASSMENT AND RETALIATION DLB: Salary Deductions