Approximately twenty-six (26) police officers work off-duty for the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation. Each day, these officers ensure the safety of the thousands of students who attend schools within the EVSC, and they take their obligation seriously.
These officers have not received a pay raise from the EVSC in eight (8) years. As such, the current rate at which the EVSC pays these officers falls below the pay rate that many other entities, including hospitals, churches, and non-profit organizations, offer. To bring their EVSC to pay more in line with what other off-duty jobs pay, the officers approached the EVSC administration in August 2018 and asked for a wage increase to $35.00 per hour.
On August 28, 2018, the EVSC Administration informed the officers it would increase their pay from $25 per hour to $27.50 per hour. On September 7, 2018, the officers countered the EVSC’s offer with a proposed rate of $32.50. The EVSC informed the officers on September 20, 2018, that it declined to accept or counter the officers’ counter-offer. On September 27, 2018, the officers informed the EVSC by letter that if the EVSC refused to increase their rate to $30 per hour, the officers would have no choice but to engage in a walk-out beginning January 3, 2019. The EVSC refused to respond to the officers. In one last ditch effort to come to an agreement and to ensure the schools are properly policed when school begins after winter break, two officers asked for a face-to-face meeting with the EVSC administration. At this November 19, 2018 meeting, the officers informed the administration that the officers were willing to work in 2019 for the $27.50 per hour offered by the EVSC if the EVSC merely assured them that they would receive raises in the future to bring their pay into line with other off-duty jobs. However, the EVSC administration refused to provide any assurances or even hope for any future pay increase.
In short, despite the fact that their initial request for a pay increase was more than reasonable, the officers have decreased their requests substantially over the past several months and have made every attempt to come to an agreement with the EVSC. These officers have given the EVSC every opportunity to communicate with the officers and to avoid a “walkout.†Yet, the EVSC has held steadfast in its refusal to negotiate meaningfully with the officers.
The officers’ request for a pay increase to $30 per hour would result in the EVSC paying only an additional approximate $18,000 per year. The EVSC’s 2019 operating budget totals $258.6 million. An $18,000 request certainly seems to be a “drop in the bucket†for the EVSC.
Further, the requested increase by the officers pales in comparison to the salary increases EVSC’s superintendent, Dr. Smith, has received over the past 7 years. According to Dr. Smith’s employment contract with the EVSC, Dr. Smith received a base salary of $160,000, $20,000 in deferred compensation, and $750 per month for a car allowance in 2011, the year he was hired.
A March 8, 2018 Courier and Press article reported that, by 2017, Dr. Smith’s pay had increased to $241,787, which was $52,000 more than he made seven (7) years prior and over $140,000 more than Evansville’s mayor and police chief made in 2017.
The EVSC has taken the position that it is financially impractical for it to pay the officers more and that the EVSC would be better off hiring one or two additional full-time officers to the
EVSC’s own police force. With all due respect to the EVSC’s police force, the force is primarily comprised of retired officers who are hired to work security in plain clothes and are required to oversee the security of many EVSC schools at one time. These EVSC officers are spread very thin, which may result in a lag of reaction time in case of emergency. On the other hand, the off-duty officers are trained, uniformed officers dedicated to patrolling their one assigned school. Clearly, the safety and security of EVSC’s students are better served by having these off-duty officers in addition to the EVSC’s own police force.
The Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge 73 and its members fully support the reasonable request of the off-duty officers. The FOP and the off-duty officers certainly hope that the EVSC will consider the off-duty officers’ request and make a decision that is in the best interest of all students within our community.
Submitted by:
D.J. Thompson
EVSC Off-Duty Police Officer Evansville F.O.P., President
