'Bait and switch': Algodones teachers criticize late change in pay for weekend professional development

Last month, Algodones teacher Kristal Martinez attended a weekend professional development workshop, in part geared toward learning about how to create safe and supportive learning environments in schools.

Originally, according to an email Martinez received in February, educators were promised a stipend based on their hourly wages.

But between the initial announcement of that stipend and the beginning of the professional development, the state Public Education Department changed the amount to a flat $250, later telling one educator it was because of a “reduction in funds.”

After more than 10 hours of work, that was only about half of what Martinez would have gotten if paid by her hourly rate.

Martinez, a mother of four, said she likes to sign up for professional development because she wants to get better at what she does for the sake of her students. But the workshop also pulled her away from time with her family, for an amount she would only find out after the fact was less than originally promised.

“It was like a slap in the face, almost — like our time wasn’t as valuable as we would have hoped for,” she said.

In an email, PED spokesperson Janelle García wrote that the stipend amount did not change, adding that after the initial announcement, “it became clear that hourly compensation would not be feasible given all the variables, and we decided on a stipend of $250.”

So on March 7, the department resent an email to all building leaders and superintendents, this time adding the $250 amount to a line about the stipend participants would receive. The professional development remained capped at 150 people.

Despite registering for the workshop in February, Lori Spina, another Algodones teacher, said she did not receive the follow-up email and did not find out about the change until after the professional development. Based on her hourly rate, Spina would have made over 2½ times the stipend she ended up receiving.

“That’s, like, bait and switch,” Spina said.

Spina’s colleague, Wendy Dostart, who has two children, said she wouldn’t have signed up for the professional development had she known she would only receive $250.

“It’s not worth my time, all of those hours,” she said.

García said the PED “considered this program to be a great success based on participation and feedback,” and despite the change in pay, Spina still acknowledged “it was a great training.”

“I am glad that I went,” she said. “... I just don’t like the way we were treated after.”