On Thursday, the board acknowledged the need to revise the existing salary schedule for these positions so that PSS can acquire a qualified pool of candidates.
BOE Vice Chairman Herman T. Guerrero, who heads the board’s committee of fiscal and personnel affairs, made the recommendation.
“In order to get qualified candidates for these hard-to-fill positions, it is the committee’s recommendation to endorse for passage a pay differential that will allow PSS to be competitive in its recruitment,” he told the board.
The approved pay differential for special education positions include $10,000 for those who have doctorate degrees in specialty areas, including but not limited to, speech pathology, audiology, occupational therapy, physical therapy and psychology, as well as other approved areas approved by a special education coordinator, the associate commissioner for instruction and services, the PSS human resource office and the commissioner of education.
The board also approved an $8,000 pay differential for those who have related service national certifications and licenses.
Likewise approved, is a pay differential for those with a master’s degree in special education including, but not limited to, specified specialty areas of especial education, early intervention, early childhood special education, deaf education, visual impairments, sever disabilities, autism, multiple disabilities, serious social and emotional disturbance, behavioral and transition specialists.
The board, moreover, recommends a $3,000 pay increase for those with bachelor’s degree in these specialty areas.
However, Guerrero said if an individual qualifies for two or more pay differentials, the category that compensates at a higher rate will be implemented.
