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New raises for PGCPS staff discovered, while teachers denied 4 percent increase

Months after a proposal to give teachers a 4 percent raise was shot down, new information shows members of CEO Dr. Kevin Maxwell's Executive Cabinet, received raises as high as 36 percent over two years.
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PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. (WUSA9) — Months after a proposal to give teachers a four percent raise was shot down, new information shows members of CEO Dr. Kevin Maxwell's Executive Cabinet received raises as high as 36 percent over two years.

RELATED: PGCPS teachers demand accountability for secret pay raises

Dr. Maxwell has the authority to set salaries and raises for his cabinet.

This new information comes a month after WUSA9 first reported at least six human resource staff members received unauthorized raises.

The raises we are now learning about are in addition to the ones previously reported, and these were authorized by Dr. Maxwell.

According to three members of the Board of Education, the following people received raises:

  • Deputy Superintendent's salary increased from $175,735 in October 2013 to $222,144 in July 2017 - a $46,409 or 26.4 percent pay increase
  • Chief Strategic and External Affairs salary increased from $138,278 in July 2015 to $188,058 in January 2017 - a $49,780 or 36 percent pay increase
  • Director of Employee Performance and Evaluation salary increased from $101,367 in July 2015 to $137,125 in May 2017 - a $35,758 or 35.3 percent pay increase
  • Officer for Diversity Affairs salary increased from $130,597 in January 2017 to $144,962 in May 2017 – a $14,365 or 11 percent pay increase
  • Former Chief of Staff salary increased from $207,586 in July 2014 to $220,209 in January 2016 – a $12,623 or 6.1 percent pay increase
  • Chief of Communications salary increased from $115,231 in January 2017 to $141,044 in March 2017 - a $25,813 or 22.4 percent pay increase

Board members Edward Burroughs, Raaheela Ahmed, and David Murray, outlined these salary increases in a letter to County Executive Rushern Baker.

RELATED: Sources: Prince George's Co officials authorized secret pay raises for central office employees

They are demanding the following actions:

1. Place a moratorium on all executive cabinet hiring and salary increases;

2. Reverse Baker’s Law (HB 1107) - which gave the PGCPS CEO the ability to hire unlimited

executive staff and also set their salaries.

3. Place an additional one million dollars in the SY 2019 budget for classroom teacher school

supplies;

4. Work collaboratively with CEO Maxwell and the Board of Education to increase our teacher and

support staff salaries by 4 percent in the 2018-2019 budget.

The full statement from the Prince George's County Public Schools Department:

The Chief Executive Officer has the authority to hire and set salaries for executive cabinet. Current salaries for the identified positions are on par with large urban school systems and historically lower than neighboring jurisdictions.

For the past several years, cost of living adjustments for executive staff have been the same as those given to teacher and administrator bargaining units and approved by the Board of Education.

Since my arrival, I have decreased the number of executive cabinet members by not hiring for new positions. Salary adjustments for the identified positions were due to greater job responsibilities, improved pay parity and/or increased cost of living.

I have made improved employee compensation a budget priority since my arrival and approved more than $100 million in teacher raises, in particular, over the last five years after several years of salary freezes. I believe strongly that much more work needs to be done to make Prince George's County teacher salaries -- and all employee salaries -- more competitive with neighboring school systems.

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