RCSD approves bonuses for working at new schools next year

Justin Murphy, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Updated ·2 min read

The Rochester school board this week approved recruitment and retention bonuses for educators to work at the new middle schools and high school to open in 2024-25, a move intended to attract veteran educators to a difficult initial assignment.

  • The principals of the five new schools will receive one-time bonuses of $8,000 each and the assistant principals will receive $7,000.

  • Teachers at the four new middle schools will receive either $5,000 or $6,000, depending on their area, in addition to a $500 moving stipend for those relocating from other buildings.

  • Teacher assistants will receive $2,000 each, and paraprofessionals and non-educator employees will receive $1,000 each.

  • Maximum class sizes in RCSD elementary and middle schools will be temporarily lowered in 2024-25, from 26 to 24 in elementary schools and from 28 to 25 in middle schools.

Fifth grade teacher Anita Jones checks on students at Walter Cooper Academy School 10 in December 2022.
Fifth grade teacher Anita Jones checks on students at Walter Cooper Academy School 10 in December 2022.

Who is getting more money at RCSD for shifting spots?

The district did not respond to a question about the total combined price tag of the bonuses or the funding source. Extrapolating from the current staffing levels at RCSD middle schools, it could be between $300,000 and $400,000 for each of the four middle schools.

"Academic excellence is at the forefront of every decision we make, and it is essential that we have highly qualified certified staff in place for the beginning of the upcoming school year," Superintendent Carmine Peluso said in a statement.

According to tenure rules, more experienced teachers have more control over where in the district they choose to work. In general, they do not middle schools and brand-new schools are not popular assignments.

Fourteen percent of the teachers in RCSD's middle schools have less than four years of experience compared to 10% in high schools and 5% in K-6 schools, according to the most recent state data.

“Our students need and deserve lower class sizes, additional safety and social-emotional supports, and high-quality teachers at all levels — including at the newly created middle schools," Rochester Teachers Association President Adam Urbanski said in a statement.

The new schools are being opened as part of a major district reconfiguration approved by the board this fall. It will close 11 schools at the end of this school year and establish a tier of middle schools, among other things.

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— Justin Murphy is a veteran reporter at the Democrat and Chronicle and author of "Your Children Are Very Greatly in Danger: School Segregation in Rochester, New York." Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/CitizenMurphy or contact him at jmurphy7@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Teachers at new RCSD schools will get bonuses, smaller classes