OTTAWA — A survey completed by local businesses indicated that support staff in the Ottawa area has found just the right balance between paying competitive salaries and still being responsible with taxpayer money.
Ottawa-Glandorf schools Superintendent Don Horstman discussed the results of a salary survey conducted by the Ottawa Area Chamber of Commerce with the assistance of chamber-member businesses. The survey covered positions such as food staff, maintenance, custodial and administrative assistants. Horstman discussed the results Tuesday at the chamber luncheon held at Henry’s Restaurant.
With the school district hiring many personnel in those fields, Horstman was asked to head up the conducting of the survey.
“We were very comfortable with where we are after seeing the results,” Horstman said. “We found that the areas where we may be a little low in what we provide, we more than made up for it in insurance coverage. It showed that we can be competitive in hiring but still responsible with taxpayer’s money.”
Horstman said that the results were compared with schools in the Western Buckeye League, other area school districts and other school districts around the state of comparative size.
The survey indicated that 63 percent of administrative assistant employees in these positions made between $10 and $12 per hour. Six percent were making $14 or more per hour. The survey said 67 percent of the employees were offered health insurance. Of those, the employer contributed 60 percent or more of the premiums 60 percent of the time, including 20 percent at 90 percent or better. Another 47 percent offered dental insurance of some kind and 64 percent offered vision care. Fifty percent were offered paid retirement, 80 percent were offered paid holidays and 87 percent were offered paid vacations.
Of businesses surveyed, 50 percent said the pay range for janitorial/custodial employees was between $8 and $10 per hour, with 17 percent making $14 or more per hour. Thirty-three percent had health insurance, 17 percent had dental and 20 percent vision coverage. Seventeen percent had paid retirement, 50 percent paid holidays and 50 percent had paid vacations.
For food-service workers, all people surveyed fell in the $8 to $10 or $10 to $12 per hour pay range. All were offered health insurance of some kind and 50 percent had eye and dental coverage. No one indicated having paid retirement, but 50 percent had paid vacation and holidays.
Horstman said the school district recently changed one of its head cook positions to cafeteria manager to oversee all three school buildings. Two maintenance men retired and one of them will be replaced with a new maintenance supervisor position. He said the move will save the district money in contracting outside of the district.
“We spent more than $30,000 last year in out-contracting,” Horstman said.
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