The past year has been one of acute focus for the Xavier Foundation. In the fall of 2021, Xavier President, Chris McCarville, approached the Xavier Foundation Board asking for our help and assistance in coming up with a solution to a long time teacher salary problem. This problem has plagued Catholic schools for decades and Chris was determined to do something about it.
That discussion launched the Xavier Foundation into action to work closely with both Chris and Pat Deignan (Chair of Xavier High School Finance Committee). This group met countless times over the next seven months to figure out the best way to get our teacher’s salaries to within 91 percent of public schools. We went through endless scenarios, models, situations, questions and ultimately ended up with a framework that not only included Xavier High School but also all Xavier Catholic elementary and middle schools as well.
In short, this framework will be funded primarily by the Xavier Foundation. Through a series of mechanisms, the Xavier Foundation will help make up the difference between the traditional 2.5-3 percent annual increase to six percent each year for the next five years. The framework is set up to be reviewed annually and tweaked to ensure everything is running as it should be.
This is an extremely exciting time for our teachers and for Catholic education in our community.
This, of course, would not be possible without the continued support of you, the Xavier community and wonderful donors. On behalf of the Xavier Foundation Board, thank you to all of you who have contributed to the Xavier Foundation as we aspire to make Xavier the best it can be. Xavier couldn’t exist without the continued support from you.
Thank you for being so generous.
David Schimberg (R91)
Chair, Xavier Foundation Board
If you go through college intending to one day become a teacher, one thing is for sure. The profession you are about to enter will not make you rich.
Most who go into the teaching profession do not do so for the money. They seek to make a difference in the world by helping to mold young lives within their classrooms. For those who choose to teach in a Catholic school however, there is a special kind of nobleness which goes along with that career selection.
In nearly 20 years of working in Catholic education, I’ve noticed most teachers choose to work in a Catholic environment typically do so for one of two reasons:
That special nobleness I mentioned also extends to what Catholic school teachers are typically paid. We know at Xavier High School, our teachers are paid at 79% of the salary matrix base of the Cedar Rapids Community School District. Locally we’ve always had a desire to pay our teacher more, but the reality of making that happen has always been difficult and complex.
Part of the complexity of paying our teachers more revolves around a long-standing agreement between our parishes and schools. Over the years, it has been mutually agreed that all Xavier Catholic Schools (XCS) remain on the same salary matrix. In other words, a first-year kindergarten teacher at LaSalle Catholic Elementary School is paid the same as a first-year science teacher at Xavier. To add to the complexity, those teachers are paid by separate boards and separate budgets.
Last year, however, an effort began to see if, despite these complexities, it might be possible to pay all XCS teachers more. Pastors, finance committees, pastoral councils, principals, school boards, and the Xavier Foundation, all came together and agreed upon modeling a start for our teachers to begin to “catch-up” to the salaries of their public school counterparts. The result? A 6% increase in teacher pay budgeted for this school year. For sure, it was a happy day when we gave this news to our teachers!
We desire strongly to keep increasing XCS teacher salaries at this pace. We have a desire to become even more competitive in paying our teachers what they truly deserve. This year’s Xavier Impact Fund will go entirely to this effort to pay all XCS teachers more. The Xavier Foundation has made this generous commitment to do it’s part to help with this Cedar Rapids-Marion-Hiawatha Catholic community effort.
Can you help us with this important initiative? The future of our Catholic schools lies heavily in our ability to pay our teachers well and at a minimum, remain competitive with salaries. We ask that you please be generous and donate today at XavierSaints.org/Impact.
Chris McCarville (R97)
President, Xavier High School