Dale Schowe, Jan Sutherland, Teresa Scott and Beth Banze voted to keep the scheduled pay raises at 9.2 percent for district employees. Voting in favor of lowering raises to 3 percent were John Nordwald, Carmen Schulze and David Wilmsmeyer. Though the vote was to keep the scheduled pay raises as planned entering the final year of a three-year agreement, the board will revisit the issue once the district learns how much funding it will receive from the state. Wilmsmeyer, financial committee chair, asserted that due to current economic conditions and rising health care costs, the 9.2 percent raise is not feasible. He warned that going forward with the scheduled pay raise would put the district in a "vicious cycle" which could force such drastic measures as a hiring freeze, cutting staff and cutting benefits. "There's no hiring freeze, but we haven't hired anyone," Superintendent Dr. John Long stated. While the uncertainty over the feasibility of the 9.2 percent raise remains unresolved, it is not possible to negotiate new contracts, he added. Schulze, who voted in favor of reducing raises, expressed concern that during this time of economic uncertainty the district would lose quality job candidates to other nearby school districts who are currently hiring. Scott did not see the potential hiring freeze as relevant at this time. "I don't understand why we cannot hire new teachers under the present salary schedule," Scott said. "I do not think we will cut staff in critical areas to fund a raise. That wouldn't be good for the children." Following the meeting, Wilmsmeyer explained, "Every member of the school board wants to treat teachers well and to do what they deserve. We want to give the 9.2 percent, but it's not feasible at this time, given the problems of the economy at the federal, state and local levels." On the issue of state funding, Scott objected to the timing and process of last week's motion, saying it was out of sync with previous discussions by the board. "We had over the last couple of months established a process by which the board would meet with teachers about this, but we were waiting for state funding amounts to come in sometime in May," she stated. She added that once the state funding is determined, then it will be the proper time to revisit the issue with teachers and the board. Outgoing board member John Nordwald, who also voted in favor of reducing raises, expressed concern that members of the community, many of whom are facing losing their jobs or substantial pay cuts, will be angered to see district faculty and staff receive raises. "We have a young board at this time," he said. "I hope they will reach out to the community for additional information. It's important to know what the community thinks." Steve McDowell, co-president of the WarrenTEAM, the district's collective bargaining unit, expects a decision to be reached on the pay raises over the next couple of weeks. "We want to get to 9 percent or come as close as we can," he said.