Ark. Code Ann. §6-17-2203(a) requires full-time classified school employees to be paid a minimum hourly rate of $6.25. Act 1773 of 2003 amended this section with the addition of §6-17-2203(c). Beginning July 1, 2003 and each year thereafter, school districts are required to increase this minimum hourly rate by a percentage equal to the percentage increase of the consumer price index (CPI).
This legislation only applies to full-time classified school employees. The district should add the current minimum hourly rate to the annual CPI percentage increase. The result is the new minimum hourly rate to be paid to all full-time classified school employees. An example of this calculation is shown below.
Act 1773 does not provide a specific source for the CPI data. The Department recognizes the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ website as a valid source of CPI data: http://www.bls.gov/home.htm. According to information available at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf, the CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers increased by 1.9% from the twelve-month average from June 2002 ending May 2003 to the twelve-month average from June 2003 ending May 2004.
The minimum hourly rate for the 2003-2004 school year was $6.38. The established increase for 2004-2005 is 1.9% or $0.12 per hour, which results in the minimum rate of $6.50 per hour.
For more information on the CPI, go to the following website: http://www.bls.gov/cpi/cpifaq.htm