Salary and Benefits
Contracts
Teachers typically sign a one-year Letter of Agreement when they are offered a position at the John F. Kennedy School. The Letter of Agreement is considered a legal, binding agreement. Shortly after arrival in Mexico, each teacher will be given an official contract in Spanish plus an English translation. The Spanish contract, plus appendices, constitutes the legal agreement under Mexican law and an “annex” is signed on a yearly basis for each additional year of employment.
The community is a conservative one in which a great deal of emphasis is placed upon personal grooming, dress and demeanor. Teachers are considered a role model for their students and in this community must dress conservatively, be well groomed and not display any body piercing or have visible tattoos.
Pets in apartments
Newly arriving teachers should understand that there is a “no pets” policy. As of the academic year 06/07 newly contracted teachers will not be able to keep pets in their apartments or in any other housing provided by the school.
Salary and Benefits Payments
The John F. Kennedy School policy is to pay for an annual transportation allowance of $800.00 USD. From this allowance, $400.00 USD will be reimbursed soon after arrival. The other $400.00 USD will be given to you in the last scholar year payment once the first part of your contract is fulfilled. The same reimbursement procedures, as mentioned above, will be followed in subsequent years of your employment. Make sure that you consider this travel allowance in your planning as the school considers this amount adequate for reasonable expenses of travel and will not accept requests for increases to this published amount.
Salary is paid bimonthly on or before the 10th and 25th of the month. Included in the peso salary, you will receive up to 12% or legal allowed in food coupons which are redeemable in most food stores. Food coupons are a common practice in Mexico and assist in lowering payroll taxes.
The first payday is August 25th and every fifteen days thereafter (Current teachers suggest that new teachers bring some extra money to get started). Before Christmas vacation, all of December's salary is paid. By June 30th, teachers receive the additional salary for the rest of July and the first August payment.
At the end of your contract the school will withhold a small amount of money ($200.00 at this time) to cover miscellaneous bills that naturally come after you leave. We suggest that you pay careful attention to long distance calls during the last month in order to receive the full reimbursement about a month after you leave the school.
Money
The school will provide you with an ATM debit card as soon as your FM3 is processed, which can be accessed 24 hours a day at many convenient locations in Mexico and in the U.S. and Canada. Your salary will be automatically deposited in this account and the food coupons (VALES) will be distributed on the same day through the accounting offices.
Life Insurance
The School provides all its personnel with a life insurance policy equal to 13 times the total monthly salary in case of natural death, or 26 times this total monthly salary in case of accidental death.
School Accident Insurance
All School personnel are covered in case of school accidents by private medical insurance for medical expenses, loss of organs, and accidental death, as specified in the policy issued annually for this purpose.
To collect this insurance, the worker must have had an accident during trips to and from home and the School within a reasonable time, according to the distance, or on the school grounds during normal working hours; or at another location if and when the School has organized or sponsored an event at that location. International coverage is included to cover emergency medical procedures on a world-wide basis.
Teacher Housing
The school will provide a modestly furnished apartment or small house to full time, fully certificated International Teachers. NOTE: The school cannot accommodate early arrivals in the apartments as the summer vacation is used for maintenance.
Housing policies may change from time-to-time. At this time housing is offered to native English speaking teachers from Canada, the USA or other native English speaking countries who are fully credentialed in their nation of origin. Examples include:
Those hired at teacher job fairs or through other international recruitment means.
Those fully credentialed native English speaking teachers presently working outside Mexico and their native land of the USA, Canada or other native English speaking country.
First Year Housing
First year teachers are required to live in the housing assigned to them by the school. If you choose not to live in the assigned housing you may look for your own housing at your own expense. The school will not pay for moving expenses nor the cost of the rent.
Second Year Housing
For the second year a teacher may request, in the month of April of the first year, to move to a vacant apartment that is rented by the school. The school will attempt to meet that request on a “first come, first serve” basis, and the housing benefit will continue as in the past. The school reserves the final right to assign housing. In some instances the request may be denied.
In the event that a teacher wishes to stay in the same place for the second year of the contract, in most cases that request will be honored. Because of the volatile nature of the housing market in Queretaro, at times, this is not possible. For example, if the owner of the apartment decides to raise the rent beyond the housing allowance, the teacher will have to pay the difference or move to a different apartment.
If a second-year teacher desires to re-locate to housing of their own choosing at the end of their first year, or other continuing year; in April they may make application for a housing allowance benefit at the termination of the original lease. This housing allowance is fixed by the Human Resources Department on a yearly basis and may go up or down depending upon local market values. Under no circumstance will the school pay more than the approved housing allowance in case the teacher decides to look for his/her own apartment. The furniture provided will be of the schools choosing and may not be the furnishings that the teacher has been using in the past. Moving of the furniture to the private home and its return to the school at the end of the contract will be provided by the school.
Housing Regulations
The apartments or houses are furnished with basic necessities like a table, chairs, a bed, night table, refrigerator, stovetop burner, microwave oven, basic cooking utensils and tableware. (See housing inventory list from Human Resources). It is the responsibility of each teacher to return either the apartment or house with the basic necessities, found upon arrival, to the school in good condition upon termination of the agreement. Lost or broken items will be replaced at the teacher’s expense.
The school will help the tenant with significant natural wear and tear to the apartment (e.g. roof leaks or broken water heater). Arrangements for and repairs due to abnormal wear and tear or damages to furnishings and other contents of the apartments are the sole responsibility of the tenant. The school will not cover the cost of incidental damages in the houses or apartments rented by the school.
Vacating School Owned Apartments
Teachers are paid their full contract salary but typically do not work the last two weeks of July, or the first week of August. The school requires that teachers, upon completion of their contract, to vacate their apartment by July 15th in order for the school to have adequate time to prepare the residences for the next occupant.
Procedure to Request Assistance With Repairs
In case of significant natural wear and tear to the apartment (e.g. roof leaks, broken water heater, or broken toilet), in order to receive assistance, the teacher must fill in a “Repair Request Form” and hand it in to the Human Resources Office. The Human Resources office will determine the reasonableness of the request and prioritize their response to the request.
Repairs for Which the Teacher is Responsible, But Requests Assistance
(e.g.: broken window, burned out light bulbs, lost keys or broken locks) The school understands how difficult it sometimes can be for International teachers to get things done in a new environment and will attempt to help when possible in case of a serious need. This process might take several days, sometimes even more!
The relationship between landlords and tenants is viewed much differently in Mexico, and some expectations of the relationship from the US/Canada model will not apply. Landlords rent houses on an “as-is” basis and tenants are typically exclusively responsible for repair and upkeep of the apartment or house. In order to receive consideration for assistance, the teacher must fill in a “Repair Request Form” and hand it in to the Human Resources Office. The Human Resources office will determine their ability to respond to the request and prioritize their response-if possible. But, ultimately these repairs are your responsibility and you will be expected to pay for that service and sometimes will be told that the school cannot help. If this problem continues and you find it frustrating, be sure and talk with your section Principal who will attempt to assist you with communication with the Human Resources Department. After reasonable communication with Human Resources and a problem has not been resolved, you may make application to our School Housing Committee to examine further your circumstances.
Special Requirements for Tenants
The tenant will be responsible for the requirements and conditions of the landlord of the apartment assigned, (e.g. overnight guests, noise policies, etc.).
Pets in apartments:
Newly arriving teachers should understand that there is a “no pets” policy. As of the academic year 06/07 newly contracted, teachers will not be able to keep pets in their apartments or in any other housing provided by the school.
If the tenant does not feel comfortable with the apartment assigned by the school, she/ he may make other living arrangements moving out at their own expense. They may have to pay a penalty established in the contract by the landlord for breaking the contract. You may request to be moved to another apartment at the end of the first year of your contract.
In May of each contract year, all apartments must be inspected by the school and evaluated for its existing condition in comparison with the condition in which the teacher received it. The teacher will be charged for repairs necessary to bring it back to the condition in which the entering teacher found it. Funds will be deducted from the $400.00 remaining in the travel allowance unless other arrangements are made for reimbursement.
Teachers continuing into their second or further years of a contract must make their house or apartment available for inspection on a yearly basis in the month of May. You must make an appointment with the Human Resources Department for this inspection in which you specify the time and date for the visit.
NOTES:
Utilities. The school will cover the basic cost of utilities. You will be informed of the amounts involved after arriving in Querétaro.
The teacher must present the corresponding bill at least 8 working days before the due date (or as soon as bill arrives) in order to avoid interruptions to services.
In case the bill exceeds the authorized limits, the teacher must pay the difference. This excess amount will be discounted directly from their pay check.
The teacher is responsible for finding out when and where bills are delivered in the housing complex or location, so as to avoid suspension of services by the provider for lack of payment. Human Resources can not take responsibility for bills not presented in a timely manner.
Telephone And Internet Service
Most apartments have telephones installed. Teachers are responsible for payment of phone bills. The school provides internet access at various locations around the campus and this service is free to teachers.
The cost of telephone service for local and international calls as well as for INTERNET use are the sole responsibility of the tenant and must be paid monthly in a timely fashion in order for services not to be suspended. When the contract of employment ends, the teacher must settle their accounts in full with the telephone company 5 working days before the termination of the contract. The date for the closing of the contract is established according to the official school calendar. The school will ask the telephone company to interrupt long distance phone service 30 days before each academic year is ended.
Special Note on Furnishings
Do not take or give away any furnishings from existing apartments without the written consent of the Human Resources Department. This applies to all potential housing changes.
Some furniture belongs to the JFK school, and some belong to the owners of the apartments. Moving it creates many unnecessary problems for the school and the teacher.
Transportation
Local transportation is plentiful and inexpensive as the school is located in a suburb about six miles from the city center.
The school owns a bus and provides free daily transportation to and from school as a courtesy to teachers able to meet its fixed once-per-day schedule. The bus arrives at school at 7:30AM and returns from the High School parking lot promptly at 3:05PM. This transportation is a privilege-not a right. Teachers will need to make personal arrangements for transportation outside of the regular schedule at their own expense.
The service cannot be extended to quarters outside of the apartment complex served by the school, nor can transportation be provided outside of this fixed schedule.
Banking
Your bi-monthly income is automatically deposited into your personal Mexican banking account which will be set up for you by the school. You will be issued a bank card which can be used to make deposits and withdrawals from your account from ATM machines on a world-wide basis.
For money transfers, it is suggested that you use an electronic exchange. The average cost at this time for such transfers is about $40.00 U.S. per transaction, regardless of the dollar value of the exchange
All major credit cards are accepted in Mexico.
School Schedule
The academic year starts about the second week of August and ends about the second week of July. Teachers begin their salaried work year in the middle of August with time organized for orientation and planning. Classes end for all students by 2:30 PM