MARQUETTE — At its meeting this week, the Marquette-Alger Regional Education System Agency gave updates on a compensation study and also discussed the Talent Together program.

On Monday, MARESA Superintendent Gregory Nyen gave his update on the success of the organization’s Talent Together program which helps high school and college-age students and teachers achieve their teaching certificates.

As of now, 56 school districts collaborate to provide candidates for the Talent Together program, making it the largest in Michigan.

It’s even the largest in the nation in terms of candidates, currently serving approximately 900.

A candidate’s completion of Talent Together should result in more than a 12% increase in teacher diversity, Nyen said, as well as the opportunity to improve their own economic status by about $600,000 over the course of their career.

Since its inception, Talent Together has saved participating teacher candidates over $8.5 million in tuition costs.

Later in the meeting, Jeff Rahmberg of Rahmberg, Stover & Associates updated the board of the status of its compensation study.

Rahmberg sent out surveys with descriptions of 24 public education-related positions asking for districts to report actual salaries, salary schedules and ranges of their comparable positions.

The purpose of the survey is to provide MARESA a salary structure recommendation for its employees.

Overall, eight Upper Peninsula school districts responded as well as all six U.P. intermediate school districts and six school districts in the Lower Peninsula.

Salary schedules are a useful resource for employers to keep their workers on an even playing field based on experience, responsibilities and other facets of the position in question. Additionally, salary schedules can ensure an employee gets the proper compensation upon retirement.

This exact issue has been hotly debated in court recently. In the case of Batista v. Office of Retirement Services, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the ORS’ creation of the normal salary increase is unlawful.

The NSI implements a “normal salary schedule” to public education employees who hold a job position with more than three people, like bus drivers and teachers, who can gain salary increases due to collective bargaining — which is factored into their retirement.

Public school administrators and superintendents, generally a job position with less than three people in any given district, don’t use collective bargaining and therefore don’t have a “normal” salary schedule.

According to the Michigan Association of Superintendents & Administrators, it is likely that those working in administration “will not realize the full credit they should receive.”

After returning from a closed session, the board also unanimously approved a new Opioid Antagonist policy, financial agreements concerning Talent Together partnered with post-secondary institutions and Talent Together schools hosting a special education memorandum of understanding.

Another part of the agenda was delayed until the February meeting and May’s meeting date was changed to May 20.