Crane Elementary School District increases employee wages
Eduardo Morales
YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) – The Crane Elementary School District has increased the amount of pay for its employees by 2%.
“To know that you are valued as a person and valued as an employee makes a great difference,” said Neomi Pharmes, a seventh grade teacher at Crane Middle School.
This brings the minimum wage from $15.00 to $15.15.
New teachers at the district can now make $61,100 their first year.
Pharmes shares what this wage increase means to her.
“With the cost of living increase and those things that are happening to us on a daily basis, that helps us. It helps let us know that you see us and hear us, and you feel the thing that we go through daily,” said Pharmes.
Sheila Mendoza, the principal at Salida Del Sol Elementary School, says this wage increase makes it easier to retain some of their best teachers.
“We know we have some great staff and some great teachers, and for us to just be able to retain them and have competitive salaries, so that we can attract and keep them here,” said Mendoza.
The better pay also allows the teachers to invest more into their students as well.
“It helps us with the rewards and the things that we want to do for the children. They do amazing jobs. When we put a high ceiling on them, they actually try to meet that high ceiling, and sometimes they emet it and exceed it,” said Pharmes.
Since 2016, the Crane School District has increased pay for educators by 53% and and 42% for other non-classroom teachers.