The Scarborough school budget this year has built-in secret pay increases for teaching staff.

First, there is a lump sum payment to teachers for the retroactive payments they would have earned if their contract had been settled last August, when the previous contract expired. Next, in addition to that pay increase, which gets built into teacher pay rates, teachers will also receive their second year contract increase starting with the coming school year.

What percentage increase will the teachers receive? That’s a good question because no one is saying.

The superintendent, board of education and leadership council have not disclosed to taxpayers anything about the amounts of these pay raises. In this time of pandemic and economic disaster-causing losses we are just beginning to count, awarding pay increases is simply irresponsible. Taxpayers will be paying this bill and have a right to know what it is.

Please release information about the teacher pay increases included in the budget so that voters can make an informed decision. As we are constantly reminded, 80% of the annual school budget is made up of labor expenses. Asking voters to vote on this budget without revealing information about how much teacher pay will increase is just plain unfair to taxpayers.

Susan Hamill
Scarborough