Approve Adjusted Staff Development Pay Schedule for All Employees Conducting Training, Attending Training, or Providing Other Professional Services, Effective June 1, 2009

The Staff Development office utilizes several funding sources to provide funding to pay for training throughout the District. These funding sources include Title I, Title II, Part I, and grants. The School Board of Hillsborough County has an approved pay schedule for such activities which is currently used. A comparison document of current and new rates is attached.

The Curriculum and Instruction Division, Support Services Division, and Information and Technology Division have collaborated to develop a new staff development pay schedule which will be used throughout the District. This new schedule was developed with two goals in mind.

First, the new schedule provides uniform pay rates which will be used throughout the District. Currently, some funding sources, such as Title I, provide a stipend for training equal to participants’ regular hourly rate. As a result, it is difficult to budget for stipends since employee hourly rates have a wide range of values. The uniformity of the new schedule will allow district personnel to budget accurately for training. Each employee classification will receive a standard stipend rate per hour of training completed.

The second goal of the new pay schedule is derived from the Economic Stimulus Package provided by the federal government. Through the new pay rates, the District will be able to provide additional pay to employees who continue to improve their skills through staff development opportunities.

* Recruit, develop, and retain a highly effective, diverse workforce

Funding for the increased pay rates for stipends will be funded through the Economic Stimulus Package. Funding sources for staff development activities include projects 4502 (Staff Development), 4503 (Technology Training), 4526 (Reading Endorsement), 1595 (Title I), 1580 (Title II), 1605 (TIF/POWER), 5051 (Support Personnel Training), 4029 (ACP), and 1596 (IDEA).

All staff development is evaluated on a regular basis using two methods. All participants complete a survey in PDS at the conclusion of each course. Each program supervisor receives feedback from the participants, instructors, and site-administrators as to the effectiveness of the training.