Several Mountain View school board members admitted this week they did not fully understand a salary proposal that has drawn opposition from district teachers.

Teachers in the district have been working without a contract for more than two years. The salary system proposed by the school board bases teacher pay on a scale of steps .

Theoretically, as teachers gain training or experience, they would move up by steps on the salary map, with pay increases based on multiplying an indexed number by their current salary.

But at a meeting Monday, first-grade teacher Jamie Janesky shared her concerns about the salary proposal.

Ms. Janesky argued that if the mapping plan is adopted, she would drop from step eight to step five or four. A new teacher could be hired at a step four and receive the same salary as Ms. Janesky without having put in the same number of years of service, she said.

“Unless you look at each teacher and their individual situation, this plan is ridiculous,” she said.

Board president Thomas Stoddard, who worked on the plan for several years, objected to Ms. Janesky’s analysis of the plan. But toward the end of the meeting, board member Michael Barhite told the crowd of about 100 he didn’t really understand the district’s indexed salary proposal for teachers.

“I feel somewhat embarrassed by my stupidity,” Mr. Barhite said. “I truly thought this mapping was a better thing (for teachers).”

Several other board members said they didn’t fully understand the plan, either.

Before Monday’s meeting, teachers gathered at the elementary school, marching in a circle and carrying signs mostly objecting to the district’s mapping proposal.

High school teacher Darin Bain, who serves on the negotiating team representing the MVEA, said “mapping is just not something we want.”

“The teachers just want a fair shake,” he said. “We just want what is equitable with teachers in other districts. This is not something that will be that difficult to fix.”

Contract negotiations will continue, with other aspects also in dispute, including the district’s proposed increase of medical insurance premiums and retirement incentives.

“I believe this is all resolvable if we’re all a little flexible,” board member Roy Twining said.

Contact the writer:

tfontana@timesshamrock.com