Orange County Public Schools

I am a new OCPS employee. How can I determine my starting salary?

Classified employees:

• Select Table A: Classified Pay Schedule
• First, determine the salary range minimum for your position. If you do not have documented verifiable job-related work experience, your starting salary will be the minimum of the salary range.
• If you have documented verifiable job-related work experience, your starting salary will be determined based on your total years of full-time work experience, up to a maximum of 5 years.

Instructional employees:

• If you do not have documented verifiable teaching experience, your starting salary will be at the 0 level of the salary schedule. You will also receive additional compensation for an advanced degree from an accredited institution, to include a Masters, Specialists or Doctorate degree. Per Article XVI.L. of the CTA contract:

Credit for Advanced Degrees

Advanced degree credit for placement on the salary schedule shall be subject to the following:

1. The employee must provide an official college transcript of record showing the award of the earned degree to the Employment Services Department.
2. If the transcript does not indicate the date on which the degree was awarded, the employee must provide additional confirmation of the degree by submitting an updated transcript showing the date of the award, a copy of an official letter from the institution indicating the date the degree was awarded, or a copy of an official diploma from the institution indicating the date the advanced degree was awarded.
3. It is understood that the advanced degree shall have been granted by a standard institution or shall have been properly validated as described in the State Board of Education Rules.
4. Teachers shall be paid on the salary schedule for persons with a bachelor's degree or its equivalent until such time as an advanced degree is verified, at which time the Board shall adjust the teacher's salary according to his/her degree or its equivalent. Any payment of back salary shall be made at the end of the next payroll period. Any salary adjustment for advanced degrees shall be retroactive to the date the degree was awarded or the beginning of the current school year, whichever is later.

• If you have documented verifiable teaching experience, your starting salary will be determined based on your total years of teaching experience. You will also receive additional compensation for an advanced degree from an accredited institution, to include a Masters, Specialists or Doctorate degree (click here to view the CTA contract language for Credit for Advanced Degrees).

Administrative employees:

• Select Table C, Administrative/Technical Compensation Plan
• Determine the salary range minimum for your position. If you do not have documented verifiable job-related work experience, your starting salary will be the minimum of the salary range.

If you have documented verifiable job-related work experience, your starting salary will be determined based on your total years of full-time work experience, up to a maximum of 9-11 years of work experience.

I have been offered a position with a higher pay grade within the same classification. How can I determine my promotional salary increase?

Classified employees:

• An employee who is promoted within the same job family (click here to see Appendix A, Classified Job Titles and Corresponding Pay Grades in the OESPA Contract) shall receive a 3% increase per pay grade up to a maximum of 12%, or an adjustment based on documented job-related experience, whichever is greater. Both are subject to the minimum and maximum wage rates for the new grade.

Example: Mrs. Smith has been promoted from a school clerk position, pay grade 4 to a school secretary position, pay grade 9. Her position is within the same clerical job family and she has 3 years of clerical experience. Her current hourly salary is $8.96. To calculate her new hourly salary: $8.96 x 1.12 (3% per pay grade or a maximum of 12 %) = $10.04

The minimum hourly pay for a pay grade 9 = $11.57

3 years of job related experience = $11.92

Since the contract states that the employee will receive 3% per pay grade (up to 12%), the pay grade minimum or experience credit, whichever is greater, Mrs. Smith's new salary is $11.92 per hour.

• An employee who is promoted out of the same job family (click here to see Appendix A, Classified Job Titles and Corresponding Pay Grades in the OESPA Contract) shall receive a 1% increase per pay grade up to a maximum of 6%, or an adjustment based on documented job-related experience, whichever is greater. Both are subject to the minimum and maximum wage rates for the new grade.

Example: Mrs. Smith has been promoted from a school clerk, pay grade 4 to an ed paraprofessional, severely handicapped, pay grade 7. Her new position is outside of the clerical job family and she does not have prior experience as an ed paraprofessional. Her current hourly salary is $8.96. To calculate her new hourly salary: $8.96 x 1.03 (1% per pay grade or a maximum of 6%) = $9.23

The minimum hourly pay for a pay grade 7 = $10.43

0 years of job-related experience

Since the contract states that the employee will receive 1% per pay grade (up to 6%), the pay grade minimum or experience credit, whichever is greater, Mrs. Smith's new salary is $10.43 per hour.

Administrative employees:

• An employee who is promoted one or two pay grades shall receive a 5% increase or the new minimum, whichever is greater.

An employee who is promoted three or more pay grades shall receive a 10% increase or the new minimum, whichever is greater.

I have been offered a position in a different job classification (i.e. classified to administrative or instructional to administrative). How can I determine my new salary?

Promotion from Instructional to Administrative:

• Employees being promoted from an Instructional position to an Administrative position with no previous comparable experience will receive the greater of an increase of 5% to current annual base pay or the minimum of the new salary grade. If the employee has previous related experience that is comparable to the level and position being promoted into, up to 9-11 years of experience credit will be given for prior experience. Special exceptions may be considered for critical needs areas.

Promotion from Classified to Administrative:

• Employees being promoted from a Classified position to an Administrative position with no previous comparable experience will receive the greater of an increase of 5% above current annual base pay plus a portion of average overtime, based on the overtime credit guidelines, or the minimum of the new salary grade. If the employee has previous related experience that is comparable to the level and position being promoted into, up to 9-11 years of experience credit will be given for prior experience.

How can I determine my salary if I accept a position with a lower pay grade?

Classified employees:

• An employee who accepts a related position at a lower pay grade shall be placed within the new position range at the same percentage above minimum as that of the previous position range, subject to the maximum of the new pay grade.

Administrative employees:

• Employees receiving a demotion/downgrade of one or two pay grades will receive the lesser of a decrease of 5% below current annual base pay or pay grade minimum. Employees receiving a demotion/downgrade of three or more pay grades will receive the lesser of a decrease of 10% below current annual base pay or pay grade minimum. The resultant salary also can not fall above the range maximum of the new position.

How do I request an upgrade of my position?

Classified employees:

• Requests for a position upgrade are normally initiated by the supervisor; however, an employee may request consideration for a position upgrade.
• An employee must complete a Comprehensive Position Questionnaire (CPQ). The immediate supervisor and Director or higher-level administrator must provide comments and sign the CPQ before submitting to the Director, Compensation Services for review.
• Compensation Services will conduct the job evaluation for the position upgrade request as outlined in Article X, D.4 of the OESPA Contract.

Administrative employees:

• The Department Head or Manager updates the existing job description and then submits a justification memo (signed by the Executive Cabinet Member) and the updated job description to the Director, Compensation Services for review.
• Compensation Services will conduct the job evaluation for the position upgrade request in accordance with the administrative review and approval process.

How can I receive salary credit for my previous work experience?

Classified employees:

• An employee must provide a completed Experience Verification Form to Compensation Services prior to the employee's first anniversary date.
• Compensation Services will review for experience credit and salary determination.
• Compensation Services will submit the verification form to Employment Services, who will adjust the employee's salary retroactive to the date of the benefited employment or the beginning of the current fiscal year, whichever is later.
• Experience credit is not given to employees in hourly or substitute positions.

Instructional employees:

• An employee must provide a completed Experience Verification Form to Employment Services prior to the employee's first anniversary date.
• Employment Services will review the completed verification form to determine experience credit and salary determination.

What should I do to receive salary credit for my masters/specialists/doctorate degree?

Salary credit for a masters, specialists or doctorate degree is given to instructional personnel only (review Article XVI, L.1-3, N of the CTA Contract).

• The employee must provide an official college transcript of record showing the award of the earned degree to Employment Services.
• If you have not received your salary credit, you should contact Employment Services or Certification to determine if your degree has been verified and payment processed.

When will I receive the salary adjustment for my advanced degree?

Once the degree is verified, any payment of back salary shall be made at the end of the next payroll period and any salary adjustment for advanced degrees shall be retroactive to the date the degree was awarded or the beginning of the current school year, whichever is later.

Who can I contact if I have questions about my salary or classification?

You may contact Compensation Services at (407) 317-3387 at any time.