ROCKWOOD GIVES TEACHERS A DEADLINE TO EITHER ACCEPT THE PAY RAISE THEY REJECTED, OR GET NO RAISE AT ALL. SEE WHAT MIGHT FORCE ROCKWOOD TO EVENTUALLY PAY MORE.
The deadline for teachers to accept is tomorrow/Wednesday, February 26th. It was written in an email sent to teachers Friday.
It states, in part, "...if we do not have a ratified agreement with the RNEA by Feb. 26, the teacher contracts will be issued for next year at this year's salary rates."
Meaning, a pay freeze. More from the email is at the bottom of this post.
--UPDATE: Teachers say the district has moved the deadline to March 11th.--
QUICK BACKGROUND: THE OFFER
Teachers have to decide whether to accept an offer they already voted to reject:
A 5.25% raise the first year, 3.25% more in year two, with another 3.25% bump in year three, totaling nearly 12%.
Teachers are seeking 16% over those three years, saying the 12% will hardly improve their low pay rank compared to other districts. They fear more teachers will leave the district for better pay.
The district has said it can't afford to pay more than the 12% it offered.
But it may have to, eventually.
ROCKWOOD COULD BE REQUIRED TO PAY MORE
Rockwood teachers are aren't the only ones seeking to prioritize teacher pay. Some of Missouri's state legislators are making it a statewide issue. Several bills related to teacher compensation have been introduced this session.
NEW BILL: 88%, THEN 95% FOR TEACHERS
One of them is House Bill 341, introduced by Representative Ben Keathley.
If passed, the bill would require that 88% of the total dollars spent on salaries and benefits in each district would have to go to teachers starting in 2026-2027.
That percentage would also have to increase another 1% every year until 95% of all dollars a district spends on salaries and benefits would go to teachers.
95% VS 70% = ROCKWOOD NOT ENOUGH?
It appears, currently, 70.1% of the district's total salary and benefit expenses is spent on teachers.
Details:
This page in Rockwood's Annual Budget shows a total $248,632, 624.00 in salaries and benefits this year for all employees (teachers and everyone else, combined).
$176,192, 378.00 (70.1%) of that goes to teachers.
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| Source: Page 174 of Rockwood's Annual Budget |
For more detail, we have reached out to Rockwood's Chief Financial Officer but have not yet received a response.
EXTRA JOBS
Note: Extra jobs that teachers do for their districts, such as coaching, would not count as salaries and benefits under House Bill 341. That means teachers would receive their portion of the 88% AND the money for the extra jobs.
Working extra jobs is not unusual for Rockwood teachers. A recent survey showed 58.5% work an extra job inside or outside the district to augment their teacher salary. You can read more about teacher struggles here in our post from last November.
HOW PAY RANKS HAVE DROPPED
The same day teachers got the email with the deadline, the district's teacher union (Rockwood National Education Association) put out additional information to show how Rockwood has not kept up with teacher pay over the last decade, compared to other area school districts.
The Facebook post shows drops among different pay steps:
Down from 8th to 20th, 10th to 20th, 6th to 12th, and 8th 15th.
You can see Rockwood's current pay scale here.
The RNEA post:
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| As seen on Facebook Feb. 21, 2025 |
Also in the post, pictures of teachers holding signs in the cold for their cause.
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| As seen on Facebook Feb. 21, 2025 |
As we previously reported, the most recent state data (for last school year) shows Rockwood pays its superintendent a salary that is ranked 7th among the same school districts where teacher pay ranked as low as 20th.
State salary data shows Dr. Curtis Cain's superintendent salary this year is $273, 822.00.
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MORE DETAIL
EXCERPTS FROM FRIDAY'S EMAIL TO TEACHERS
Sent from Dr. Cain:
DR. CAIN'S SALARY
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| State records showing salaries from Rockwood's Central Office and Annex buildings |
Rockwood employs 119 administrators in all, according to its Annual Report.
With roughly 1,500 teachers, that's approximately one administrator for every 12 teachers.