by Tony Gray
posted 6 August 2021

WHITEHALL, NY --- School district Board of Education members unanimously approved two programs designed to attract new faculty and staff during the regular July board meeting.

Full time staff members who recruit a new hire to fill a CSEA position at the district will get $500 if the person they recruit completes one year of employment. If the recruit completes their probationary period, the staff member gets $250; the other $250 is paid after the one year anniversary for the new hire.

Anyone hired for a CSEA, non-instructional full-time job will receive $250 after they complete their probationary period. If they complete a full year of service, they get another $1,000 payment. Those positions include jobs such as Secretarial, Clerical, Maintenance, Transportation, Teacher Aides and Cafeteria workers. It excludes supervisory positions, confidential personnel and ones requiring certification, such as teachers.

"Our district feels the recruitment incentive and sign-on bonus are necessary as we find ourselves in the same position as many other local businesses within Washington and other surrounding counties," said District Clerk Heather Morcombe, adding "we have open positions to fill and a lack of interest."

A 2017 Rockefeller Institute of Government analysis of New York State Education Department's Personnel Master File illustrates the wide gap in teacher salaries. The study, which did not include New York City, determined the median salary for North Country teachers averages $60,320 per year while Capital District teachers get $65,230 per year. Salaries increase the closer the district is to NYC; teachers in Long Island, for instance, average $111,603 per year. The study further shows that high-need rural districts in the state pay a median salary of $56, 613, which makes sense because larger North Country districts like Glens Falls pay more than smaller rural districts like Whitehall.

Another hurdle for smaller rural districts is the limited number of jobs available for spouses, which often leads to recruiting recently graduated single candidates who often accept jobs for the experience that makes them more attractive to larger districts who pay more and offer more social opportunities.