Posted on 01/27/2004 7:08:53 AM PST by chambley1
Arlington School Board members last Thursday approved a 62-percent pay increase for themselves, their first pay increase in four years but one which runs more than double the amount teachers have received over the same period.
The 4-1 vote makes Arlington School Board members the highest-paid school board in the commonwealth, although the school district is not one of the largest. Arlington board members, who oversee the education of 19,000 students, will now be paid more than their counterparts in Fairfax County, with 150,000 students.
“This is reasonable compensation,” said board member Elaine Furlow, who voted in favor of the increase.
The board’s four Democrats all supported the increase. The lone dissenting voice came from independent board member Dave Foster, who said he would only support an increase of up to 25 percent.
“This is a 62-percent increase,” Foster said incredulously. “That’s not the same increases our teachers or bus drivers are likely to see over the next four years.”
But Foster could not get any other member of the School Board to second his proposal. The four who supported the measure for higher salaries said that, without them, fewer people would be willing to run for School Board – even though the races in recent years have been more competitive than those for County Board, whose members are paid more.
Under to a recommendation by Superintendent Robert Smith, salaries for School Board members will go from $12,000 a year to $19,500, and the chairman’s salary would increase from $13,100 to $21,500.
The increases will take effect July 1.
When the pay-raise proposal was made public three weeks ago, School Board members seemed unaware that they were required by state law to hold a public hearing on the matter. The hearing was hastily scheduled for last Thursday’s meeting.
Most of the county’s civic watchdogs skipped the meeting, leaving the floor open to those who supported the pay increase.
“If anything, the proposed salary increases are probably too low,” said Fiscal Affairs Advisory Commission chairman Peter Rousselot. “Service on the School Board is a 24/7 responsibility, and they oversee $320 million-plus budget – we want members who can devote that amount of time.”
During the two-week debate on the issue, however, critics questioned why the School Board needed the money, since it is a part-time job and all day-to-day operations are delegated to a superintendent who earns more than $190,000 a year (thousands higher than Arlington’s county manager) and hundreds of school system bureaucrats.
Under current state law, Arlington School Board members can only increase their salaries once every four years. But under a bill now pending in Richmond, they would be able to give themselves cost-of-living raises each year, similar to what the County Board can do.
That bill currently is pending in the House of Delegates. Whether the 62-percent pay raise will raise eyebrows among legislators enough to kill the bill remains to be seen.
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