4-1-14 fdl teachers say morale is at an all-time low

As the Fond du lac school board reviews a new teacher compensation plan some teachers are concerned about what they say are salary inequities between longtime employees and new hires.  At last week’s school board meeting, special education teacher Shannon Ferguson aired her concerns.  Her husband is a second grade teacher at Riverside Elementary.  Ferguson says at the start of the school year there were 60 new staff hired.  "To me that's a red flag, coupled with the vast amount of people who have also left the district in the two years prior to that,"  Ferguson told the school board.  "I feel the district is at a critical time and I truly fear that more and more teachers will be leaving to seek employment with other districts."   Superintendent Dr. Jim Sebert says the compensation plan is designed to treat everyone equitably  and to be sustainable into the future.  "To give everyone a raise from where they are at, to put them on a three year evaluation cycle and also provides a professional development stipend every three years for $1500.  That, combined with the fact that it is sustainable for the Fond du Lac School District I think are the important pieces of the new compensation plan."   Sebert says teachers leaving the district is not unique to Fond du lac.