Budget

When directors start talking about compensation, it can feel daunting. There are real financial constraints, competing priorities, and often a deep desire to do better for our educators than the budget seems to allow. When I think about this work, I come back to a simple idea: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Building a thoughtful salary scale doesn’t happen overnight. It starts with small, intentional steps.

One place I’ve found helpful to begin is by reflecting on what actually guides our budgeting decisions. Our feelings about money—our personal experiences, assumptions, and even discomfort—often influence how we allocate resources. Taking time to name the values that should shape compensation can bring clarity. In conversations with colleagues, themes like professionalism, educator worth, retention, equity, and sustainability often rise to the top. When we’re clear about our values, it becomes easier to align our financial decisions with the kind of program we want to lead.

From there, directors can start exploring structures that bring transparency and fairness to compensation. Step salary scales offer predictable increases based on experience and longevity. Salary bands create ranges tied to education and responsibility. Some programs use hybrid models that combine base salaries with stipends or outside funding sources to help close the gap between current pay and long-term goals. None of these systems has to be perfect at the start—they can evolve over time.

For many of us, the real work is advocating for these ideas with our boards. I’ve learned that those conversations are most effective when we bring together values, data, and relationships. Understanding what matters most to your board—whether that’s fiscal responsibility, mission alignment, or long-term sustainability—helps you frame the conversation in language that resonates. Sharing educator stories alongside clear data can also help connect compensation to program quality and stability.

Directors don’t have to navigate this work alone. Early Childhood Educators of Reform Judaism (ECE-RJ) recently released a new Compensation and Benefits Study, which offers helpful data and benchmarks to support these conversations.

If you’re thinking about compensation in your program, start with one small step. Name your values. Gather data. Draft an idea. Begin the conversation. Over time, those small steps can lead to meaningful change for the educators who make our work possible.

Sheila Purdin

Director of Early Childhood Education

Temple Sinai Preschool

Denver, CO