About 34 percent of teachers and staff who left the Menlo Park City School District at the end of the 2017-18 school year did so because of long commutes and high cost of living, according to a district survey. In an effort to counteract this trend, the district is developing a “compensation philosophy," which the school board will discuss in a study session tonight (Nov. 6).

District officials began studying how to hire and retain the “most qualified and exceptional teachers and staff” given that the district is located in an area of "extreme" high cost of living and has a budget dependent on local revenue sources, according to a district statement.

"MPCSD (Menlo Park City School District) is working toward a long term funding strategy that, among other things, will enable us to continue to be among the most competitive in employee compensation,” Superintendent Erik Burmeister wrote in an email. “This is a priority, not only because teachers are the critical factor in student success, but also because we want our teachers to be able to live within a reasonable commuting distance."

Additionally, since 88 percent of annual district spending is on salaries and benefits, having a clearly stated and agreed-upon compensation philosophy to guide hiring and staffing also makes fiduciary sense, Parke Treadway, the district’s public information officer, wrote in an email. The average teacher salary in the district is $110,000, she said. The district employs 220 full-time certified teachers and 116 full-time classified employees.

The district is currently taking three approaches to help teachers afford to live in the area:

• Paying the most competitive salaries the district is able to offer, remembering its revenue is primarily from local sources, including voter-approved parcel taxes and philanthropic giving through the education foundation.

• Partnering with Landed, a local company that offers down payment support to teachers and staff when buying a home.

• Working with the city of Menlo Park to advocate that any new developments include below-market-rate housing designated for district teachers.

A draft of the compensation philosophy can be found here.

The draft mentions making the "recruitment, retention, and development of high-quality teachers" the highest priority. The district also has a desire to "become leaders in the elevation of the teaching profession in our community, the Bay Area, the State of California, and possibly beyond," according to the document.

The district also remains open to partnering with other local or regional agencies to find solutions to the affordable housing crisis, Treadway wrote.

“It is a challenge that affects staffing in all governing agencies, and one that will likely take partnership with many stakeholders - public and private - to tackle,” she wrote.

In June 2017, the school board approved a 2 percent increase to all district salary schedules for the 2017-18 school year. The board also approved a districtwide 3 percent pay increase for the 2018-19 school year.

The school board plans to vote on a final draft of the compensation philosophy at the Dec. 11 board meeting.

Tuesday's meeting will begin at 5 p.m. at the TERC Building at 181 Encinal Ave. in Atherton.

-