| An Open Letter to Dan Ellis & the Texas Legislature | ||||
| Dan: Here are some of the more obvious conerns. As a chaplain in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, like many, I love my job. I work with some of the finest persons at the Lewis Unit and throughout Texas. Our great state has done so much for so many. I have seen officers working at the local Wal-Mart and McDonald's during Christmas time to help make ends meet. Not till I looked at the differences between other professions did I see the glaring inequities. In the following, you will see what is hard to understand. To further highlight the differences, I've indicated five points of concern. I know many care, but how long will this continue? | ||||
| Dan, I love my job and owe so much to Texas for the privilege of service. Given the following, and by any consideration of professional equity and knowledge of the contribution that the chaplaincy department gives through its chaplains and the innumerable volunteers facilitated, how can the few number of chaplains be paid any less than TDCJ's own engineers or the head chaplain any less than a Windham principal? Below are 5 professional inequities and so much more could be pointed out. Please help us chaplains. | ||||
| 1. A programmer or engineer in training can walk out of college at 22 years old, start with TDCJ making MORE than a chaplain with a Master's degree, while no one anywhere would consider a "prison" chaplain fit at 22 yrs. old. Most Chaplains exceed the professional qualifications of both the Engineer V and the Programmer V positions, not to mention the UTMB and Windham comparisons. | ||||
| 2. How can a pharmacist, physician asst., principal, programmer or teacher make more than our wardens? | ||||
| 3. How can a "contract" Psychiatrist III make more than our Executive Director? | ||||
| 4. The Wardens, Officers AND Chaplains were present in prison long before the "TDCJ" engineers, programmers, teachers and before psychiatry even existed, yet how is that the last have so surpassed, even suppressed the salary of the first? | ||||
| 5. Not the least by any means--our Correctional Officers are no less citizens and employees than any other state law enforcement officer and no less professional, except that they have to deal with Uglier and Nastier elements of law enforcement DAILY, Hourly while being paid far less and expected to be "career" employees. | ||||
| Prepared by M.G. Maness, Chaplain, Lewis Unit, Woodville | ||||
| mgmaness@earthlink.net | ||||
| Chaplain Salary/Experience Vis-à-vis Other Professions in TDCJ | ||||
| Group | Monthly | Group | ||
| Profession | Start | Start | M I N I M U M Qualifications | Scale |
| Chaplain I | B05 | 2161 | Masters, 2 yrs exp; or Bachelors with 4 yrs. exp.; or HS/GED with 8 yrs. exp.; ecclesiastical endorsement & ordination. | B05: 2161-2749 |
| Chaplain II | B08 | 2589 | Masters, 2 yrs exp; or Bachelors with 4 yrs. exp.; or HS/GED with 8 yrs. exp.; 2 units (800 hrs) certified CPE, ecclesiastical endorsement & ordination. | B08: 2589-3309 |
| Chaplain II, Regional | B09 | 2749 | Masters, 2 yrs exp; or Bachelors with 5 yrs. exp.; 2 units (800 hrs) certified CPE, ecclesiastical endorsement & ordination. | B09: 2749-3518 |
| Chaplain III, Administrator | B10 | 2925 | Masters, 6 yrs exp., 2 units (800 hrs) certified CPE, ecclesiastical endorsement & ordination. | B10: 2925-3744 |
| NOTE: Engineers Start at Mid-Range with Minimum of Experience, Increasing FROM Mid-Range Based upon Experience | ||||
| Engineer I | B09 | 3109 | Bachelors, passed Engineer in Training exam | B09: 2725-3744 |
| Engineer II | B10 | 3418 | Bachelors, passed Engineer in Training exam, 2 yrs exp., Masters Dg. can substitute for 2 yrs exp. | B10: 2925-3744 |
| Engineer III | B11 | 3644 | Bachelors, passed Engineer in Training exam, 4 yrs exp., licensed prof. engineer, current certification plant engineer preferred. | B11: 3111-4130 |
| Engineer IV | B12 | 3885 | Bachelors, passed Eng. in Training exam, 6 yrs exp., Masters Dg. can substitute for 2 yrs exp., licensed prof. engineer, current certification plant engineer preferred. | B12: 3309-4397 |
| Engineer V | B13 | 4153 | Bachelors, passed Eng. in Training exam, 8 yrs exp., Masters Dg. can substitute for 2 yrs exp., licensed prof. engineer, current certification plant engineer preferred. | B13: 3518-4680 |
| Programmer II, Systems | B08 | 2589 | Bachelors with 18 hrs computer sci.; or HS/GED 1 yr. exp. | B08: 2589-3309 |
| Programmer III, Systems | B10 | 2925 | Bachelors with 18 hrs computer sci.; or HS/GED 2 yrs exp. | B10: 2925-3744 |
| Programmer IV, Systems | B12 | 3309 | Bachelors with 18 hrs computer sci.; or HS/GED 3 yrs exp. | B12: 3309-4397 |
| Programmer V, Systems | B14 | 3744 | Bachelors with computer sci. & 4 years exp.; or HS/GED 5 yrs exp. | B14: 3644- |
| Warden I | B14 | 3744 | Bachelors, 8 yrs. exp., each 30 hrs. above Bachelors may substitute for 1 year of experience | B14: 3644- |
| Asst. Warden | B13 | 3418 | Bachelors, 6 yrs. exp., each 30 hrs. above Bachelors may substitute for 1 year of experience, with 2 years supervision of employees | B13: 3518-4680 |
| Librarian II, Unit Law Librarian | B07 | 2436 | HS or GED, 2 yrs. exp., 30 hrs college may substitute 1 yr. of exp. on yr. for yr. basis; exp. in legal research preferred. | B07: 2436-3111 |
| Sergeant, Security Threat | B05 | 2161 | HS or GED, 2 yrs. Correctional/Law Enforcement Officer | B05: 2161-2749 |
| Food Service Manager II | A13 | 2161 | HS or GED, 3 yrs. exp. in food preparation or 1.5 yrs correctional food service exp. | A13 & B05: 2161-2749 |
| Recreation Program Specialist IV -- Coach | A14 | 2295 | Bachelors with study in physical education or in any field with 2 years exp. | A14 & B6: 2295-2925 |
| Maintenance Supervisor IV, Plumber & Water Technician | A15 | 2436 | HS or GED, 5 yrs. exp., with or able to get Level II distribution & collection certification within 1 year of employment; plumbing license preferred. | A15 & B7: 2436-3111 |
| Administrative Technician IV, Work Order Coordinator | A15 | 2436 | Bachelors, with study in business preferred, 1 year experience; each year exp. above 1 may substitute for 30 college hours. | A15 & B07: 2436-3111 |
| Program Administrator II, Rehabilitation Tier Specialist | B10 | 2925 | Bachelors with study in public administration, criminal justice or related field; 5 yrs. exp., each year exp. above 5 may be substituted for 30 hours college. | B10: 2925-3744 |
| Program Administrator IV, Purchasing & Leases | B12 | 3309 | Bachelors in business, finance or related preferred, 8 yrs exp., each year in excess of 8 may substitute for 30 hours college on year for year basis | B12: 3309-4397 |
| -- WINDHAM SALARY LEVELS -- | ||||
| Windham Principal I (5 or less employees) | 4635 | Masters with educational administration, State Board Educator Certification Mid-Management, Five-Year Mid-Management Certificate (or eligible), 3 years as a classroom teacher (based on annual start 55635). | ||
| Windham Principal II | 4744 | Same as Principle I but with 10-19 employees (based on annual start 56929). | ||
| Windham Principal III | 4886 | Same as Principle I but with 20-29 employees (based on annual start 58637). | ||
| Windham Principal IV | 5033 | Same as Principle I but with 30 or more employees (based on annual start 60396). | ||
| Windham Counselor | 3372 | Masters & State Board for Educator Certificate Professional School Counselor or eligible (based on annual start 40464). | ||
| Windham Teacher Salaries Increase EVERY Year; After the fourth year, Increase by 1200+ EACH year through the 10th year, with a slow slide down to the 20th year. | ||||
| Windham Teacher (0 exp.) | 2423 | Bachelors & certification for area of assignment (based on annual start 29076). | ||
| Windham Teacher (2 yrs. exp.) | 2538 | Bachelors & certification for area of assignment; vocational teachers start at 2 years exp. minimum with journeyman experience and Texas Education Agency certification (based on annual start 30456). | ||
| Windham Teacher (4 yrs. exp.) | 2716 | Bachelors & certification for area of assignment (based on annual start 32592). | ||
| Windham Teacher (5 yrs. exp.) | 2837 | Bachelors & certification for area of assignment (based on annual start 34044). | ||
| Windham Teacher (8 yrs. exp.) | 3177 | Bachelors & certification for area of assignment (based on annual start 38124). | ||
| Windham Teacher (9 yrs. exp.) | 3278 | Bachelors & certification for area of assignment (based on annual start 39336). | ||
| Windham Teacher (15 yrs. exp.) | 3775 | Bachelors & certification for area of assignment (based on annual start 45300). | ||
| Windham Teacher (20 yrs. exp.) | 4079 | Bachelors & certification for area of assignment (based on annual start 48948). | ||
| -- TDCJ UTMB CONTRACT MEDICAL SALARIES -- | ||||
| **Few start at low end in TDCJ UTMB, but at the higher end with a few years of experience & increase throughout tenure, UNLIKE the TDCJ positions! | ||||
| Medical Records Tech I | 1537 | MRT Grad., no Experience (based on annual start: 18454-24300) | 1537-2025 | |
| Senior Secretary | 1743 | NO requirements (?) stated (based on annual start: 20923-28000). | 1743-2333 | |
| Vocational Nurse | 1907-2425 | LVN (Licensed Vocational Nurse) in Texas (based on annual start: 22884-29100). | 1907-2425 | |
| Staff Psychotherapist | 2544-3366 | Masters in 1 of several areas, Licensure in 1 area (based on annual start: 30532-40400) | 2544-3366 | |
| Staff Nurse III | 2691-3416 | RN (Registered Nurse) with associate's degree in nursing, license in Texas & 2 years experience (based on annual start: 32295-41000). | 2691-3416 | |
| Senior Pharmacist | 3977-6460 | Bachelors in Pharmacy, 3 yrs. exp., current or eligible for Texas License (based on annual start: 47733-77527) | 3977-6460 | |
| Physician Assistant | 3977-6460 | Current Physician Assistant or Advanced Nurse Practioner License for Texas (based on annual start: 47733-77527) | 3977-6460 | |
| Psychiatrist III | 11,500 | M.D. or D.O., eligible for Board Certification in Psychiatry, current Texas medical license (based on annual start 138000). | ||