School board member pay hiked 81 percent
School board member pay hiked 81 percent
By Jill DENNING GACKLE
Garrison educators took a hit in the pocketbook to stand firm as contract negotiations lag on.
At the same time, three of seven board members – particularly those on the negotiations team – more than doubled their pay and four others saw an average increase of 59 percent.
The board voted a year ago to increase their pay from $1,200 a year to $100 a meeting. The reasoning at the time was that there was lot of hours put into the position and, although, no one said it publicly, attendance by some board members was more regular than others.
The past year and a half has meant a lot of meetings.
Between April 28, 2008, and today there were about 20 negotiations committee meetings alone. The board meets once a month. There were also meetings of the transportation committee, curriculum and personnel committees.
The change from $1,200 a year to $100 a meeting paid off.
Daryl Engel and Steve Seidler, vice president, tallied the most meetings as members of the negotiations committee and were paid $2,600 each recently when the district’s fiscal year ended June 30.
Jerry Sayler, also on the negotiations committee, attended two less meetings during the year and received $2,400.
