Autonomous salary structure proposed for Guam education department

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

Sen. Vincent A.V. Borja is proposing to grant the Guam Department of Education autonomy in managing salary schedules for teachers and other employees, similar to the authority granted to the University of Guam and the Guam Community College.

Bill 351-38 would authorize the education department to establish its own educator classification system, salary and benefits structure, "allowing 

flexibility to respond to market conditions and institutional needs."

The agency's compensation infrastructure is currently governed by a uniform system that applies to the executive and judicial branches of the government of Guam.

Vincent Borja

Bill 351-38 would exempt the education department from the GovGuam pay framework, noting that "decisions regarding educator classification and compensation are best made by the elected Guam Education Board."

The bill tasks the education board with negotiating the salary structure with the Guam Federation of Teachers, based on at least 95 percent of the national average.

The new pay structure would be phased in over no more than five fiscal years, with no single-year increase above 15 percent and no retroactive application, according to the bill.

“For years, every conversation about teacher pay has ended with someone asking for a compensation study that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Borja said. “GDOE employs hundreds of educated professionals who can read a pay scale and a payroll register. We do not need to hire a consultant to tell us what we can already see.” 

The proposed salary restructuring would cover classroom teachers, preschool teachers, instructors, substitute teachers, counselors, school psychologists, school nurses, librarians and media specialists, curriculum coordinators, instructional consultants, school administrators and program directors.

It would not apply to the superintendent and deputy superintendent,

whose compensation packages would be established separately by the board.

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Before the structure is approved, the board would be required to determine the cost for each fiscal year of implementation, using existing payroll records and annual wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the National Education Association.

The bill notes that Guam ranks 53rd out of 54 states and territories for annual median wage across all occupations, and ranks last of all reporting areas in education and library occupations.

The national average public school teacher salary for School Year 2025-2026 is $76,552. Housing, healthcare, transportation and everyday costs have climbed. Teachers leave for jurisdictions that pay more, and every departure costs GDOE again in recruitment, orientation, training, long-term substitutes, and combined classes.

“We are already paying for teacher turnover,” Borja said. “We are paying for vacancies, substitutes, recruitment and training every time an experienced educator walks out the door. Instead of continuing to spend money replacing good teachers, we should be using those resources to give them a reason to stay.”

The bill also requires the Board to report annually on implementation, on any compensation earned but unpaid for want of appropriation, on how far the structure sits from the market standard, and on recruitment, retention and vacancy rates.

“The board sets spending priorities at GDOE. That is their job, not ours,” Borja said. “So the question we are putting to them is a direct one. Go through the budget line by line. Look at what we are spending on, what we are lapsing every year because positions sit vacant, what we are duplicating and what has outlived its purpose."

He said any unused funds must be returned to the classroom and put into the salaries of the "people standing in front of our students."

The bill preserves Civil Service Commission jurisdiction over individual employee appeals, protects covered employees from any reduction in salary, benefits, leave, or step placement during the transition, and does not authorize any increase in the number of positions funded in the annual budget.

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