In the Nov. 13 Daily Bulldog article regarding the RSU9 board and the Mt. Blue Education Association, the MBEA stated that with the current salary increases proposed by the board, it would take 10 years for a teacher who is starting at the minimum salary of $40,000 per year to attain a salary of $42,776.
Using the proposed annual increases which the teachers claim are actually being offered by the RSU9 board, the MBEA’s ten-year salary projection of $42,776 does not match the math involved. Here is the actual projection, using the annual increases put forth by the MBEA.
$40,000 first year salary, then a 2.3% increase
x 1.023 = $40,920 second year salary, then a 3.58% increase
x 1.0358 = $42,385 third year salary, then a 2.56% increase
x 1.0256 = $43,470 fourth year salary
A fourth-year salary of $43,470 represents an average annual compounded increase of 2.8% per annum. At that rate, in a teacher’s 10th year (following 9 years of a compounded 2.8% increase), his or her salary would be $51,286, a number which is far higher than the MBEA’s claimed 10th year salary of $42,776.
I don’t have a dog in this fight, and I know that teachers don’t have an easy job to perform, but let’s please use the true numbers in these contract negotiations.
Mike Martin
Farmington
