Defining "salary" for School of Blind teachers
The Supreme Court of Washington ruled this morning on a salary dispute involving teachers from the Washington State School of the Blind (WSSB). The case is Delyria v. State.
State law requires that WSSB teacher salaries "conform to and be contemporary with" salaries of local school district teachers. The state sets a salary schedule, but local districts can provide supplemental pay to teachers for "additional time, additional responsibilities, or incentives" -- known as TRI pay.
Cheryl Delyria and Judy Koch are certificated teachers at the WSSB in Vancouver. They are paid a base salary according to the state salary schedule. Under their collective bargaining agreement, they can earn additional pay if allowed by the WSSB's financial resources, but the WSSB teachers do not receive TRI pay. These teachers argued they are entitled to TRI payments similar to the payments made by the Vancouver School District to its teachers.
Justice Charles Johnson, writing the majority opinion, says the legislature enacted two separate provisions regarding supplemental pay: one for local district teachers, and other for WSSB. Because of this, the court held today that a school district's TRI pay is not part of the teacher's salary, and WSSB teachers are not entitled to an similar supplement.
Chief Justice Alexander and Justice Madsen and Fairhurst filed a concurring opinion.
Obviously this is a loss for WSSB teachers, but what do other education folks think about the ruling? School districts often face incredible pressure during contract negotiations to boost teacher income through TRI payments. The ruling clarifies that TRI is merely supplemental and not part of a teacher's salary. What impact will that have on teacher/district negotiations?
