PSS eyes to revive within grade increase
The Public School System is looking at the possibility of restoring the Within Grade Increase for its employees, an incentive which the Board of Education hopes to implement if Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio approves the Fiscal Year 2000 budget.
WGI is a five percent increase in salary awarded to well-performing employees. But PSS employees have survived the past two years without the increase due to lack of resources.
BOE members have been pushing to bring back the yearly salary increase to recognize the many PSS employees who work hard throughout the year.
Other government agencies have also had to do without WGIs for a period of eight months but not as long as what the PSS had gone through.
Late last year, even the Commonwealth Ports Authority brought back regular hours for its employees with the easing of its financial condition.
“Only PSS is having to make such long sacrifices,” said a PSS official who declined to be identified.
BOE members also lament failure to add WGIs to PSS’ FY2000 funding request.
But if all goes well within the fiscal year, PSS is eyeing to grant WGIs to its employees for the period currently being covered and possibly retroact the unpaid WGIs during FY 1999.
Under the $36 million continuing resolution, PSS is spending $32.8 million for personnel costs alone. This leaves $4.2 million to meet additional human resource needs of the school system between May and October of this year.
The vocational funding, covering the four-month period, would increase by $1 million which would be tapped for vocational education apprentice program, omitting any “real” increase in operating allotments.
This, even as PSS has reportedly exercised extra care in disbursing operational funds from the beginning of the current fiscal year to the present.
Earlier reports reveal that PSS has only spent some $406,000 to date despite being less than halfway through the next fiscal year. During the same period, PSS already spent over $758,000 out of its annual $2.9 operation expenses budget, or $300,000 less than what it spent compared with October to May of FY 1999-2000. (MM)
