A Ben Franklin Junior High School tech ed/engineer teacher challenged School Board members and administration to rectify inequities in teacher pay, saying he could leave the district this week.

Stevens Point Area Public School District officials Monday, Aug. 8, agreed there are inequities, and said those as well as implementation of a compensation plan were top priorities this year.

“I’m moving it to the top of the list,” Superintendent Craig Gerlach said.

“I’ve talked with many staff members over the last month, and certainly this is a significant issue,” he said. “We do have inequities across the table. We could have 75 to 100 inequities, and we’re going to address all of those.”

That vow, however, might not keep Matt Jacowski, a five-year teacher, in the district, he said.

Jacowski, who has 13 years’ teaching experience overall, told the School Board that he had an offer from Wausau School District in hand for more than what he was being paid here, and requested the district bump his salary to the same amount that the board was approving that night for a new SPASH tech ed teacher.

The Board approved hiring Corey Opper, who has 16 years of teaching experience, as a full-time tech ed teacher at a contract of $50,000. Jacowski makes $44,833, he said, or 11.5 percent less than the new hire.

Jacowski’s offer from Wausau, he said, was $50,584.

Jacowski had no issue with Opper being hired, in fact he complimented the district on it, and said Opper will make a great addition to the team. He said he just wanted a fair shake.

“I met with Superintendent Gerlach on Thursday (Aug. 4) to see if there was anything he could do to bring me up to the same level of pay as the new hire, which is less than the offer I hold in my hand,” Jacowski said Monday. “He said there was nothing he could do. I find this very disheartening.

“All I am asking for is a fair salary of $50,000,” he said. “I hope that you will show me that you value me as much as a new hire and that you will do what is best for students: keep a well-respected, safety conscious, veteran teacher in the classroom on Sept. 1, not a substitute. I hope that on Wednesday I will still be able to call the Stevens Point School District home.”

The board thanked Jacowski and acknowledged that the district’s compensation plan needs to be addressed, and that inequities in pay must be eliminated.

The promise does little at this point for Jacowski, the students or the school district, which will have to spend nearly $56,000 in wages, training and mentoring to replace him, he said, $6,000 more than what he was asking in a raise.

“There is no way the district is going to be able to hire a teacher when I leave,” he said in a follow-up email to board members Tuesday. “This problem was not created by the teachers who are being discriminated against or the (state) Legislature, this problem was created by the Stevens Point School District’s Human Resources Department, School Board and past superintendents.

“There was a consensus of the board and the superintendent that pay inequities need to be the number one issue,” Jacowski said. “If that is truly the direction of the board, have a special meeting, address the immediate inequity and create a plan of action to take care of the rest.”

At press time Wednesday, Aug. 10, Jacowski had not yet made a decision.