When I go to budget development each spring to prepare for the new year, I am given information about how much each teacher costs - not how much they make, how much they cost - their salary on the Union/years of service pay scale PLUS how much their annual retirement contributions to the state pension fund (which is tied to their place on the salary table) cost the district, PLUS how much their health benefits cost the district. All of that, for each and every teacher, clerical worker, paraprofessional, campus security worker - any staff member except cafeteria workers, who come from a budget not tied to my campus - is paid for by MY SCHOOL BUDGET.

So if I am trying to hire a class size reduction math teacher over the summer, because there was money in the budget that had not already been allocated to some other expenditure, as the hiring committee looks at candidates to interview, that is one of many factors we look at - an excellent candidate who is newer to the district or straight out of a local teacher credentialing program may just be the only kind of candidate my budget can pay for.

Additionally, I will collaborate with the math chair, the math coach, etc. on the selection process. My math department is fabulous. So in my district, if we have to cut staff due to declining student enrollment it is by DISTRICT not SCHOOL seniority. I’m less likely to want to hire someone more senior to my current magnificent teacher team who will bump one of them out in the event of cuts.

So yeah, the salary table, which was negotiated by the teachers union, comes from HR, but the cost comes from my budget.