Stunning!!
- Last years demands for residential property tax reassessments has had a deleterious impact on the financial situation of the school funding. Some of the same people who complain about school funding discrepancies were not seen stepping up to tell people that every dollar in savings to them personally is several dimes that get taken away from the school system.
- Recently large portions of the staff were forced to take a pay cut
By Megan Matteucci
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Despite pleas from teachers and bus drivers, the DeKalb County school board approved a $15,000 raise for Superintendent Crawford Lewis.
The board voted 8 to 1 Monday night to raise Lewis’ salary from $240,000 to $255,000. The board also voted to extend his contract, which was slated to end Oct. 31, 2011, to Jan. 3, 2013. The new salary will remain in effect until the end of the contract.
“It’s totally unfair,” said kindergarten teacher Lisa Morgan, a vice president for the Organization of DeKalb Educators. “If he’s getting a raise, I expect everyone to get a raise. We didn’t get a raise, and some of the bus drivers got pay cuts.”
Bus driver Joyce Martin told the board she took a 29 percent pay cut and was outraged that anyone would be getting a pay increase.
Lewis, who is in his fifth year as superintendent, declined to comment Monday.
Under his old contract, Lewis should have been making $250,000. However, last year, he agreed to take a 2 percent pay cut and turned down his $10,000 cost of living increase.
The Organization of DeKalb Educators, which represents 4,700 school employees, urged the board to hold off on taking any action.
“The members are extremely disappointed and insulted that the board of education would even consider granting Dr. Lewis a raise or other increase in compensation in the midst of the present economic turmoil, as well as the district attorney’s ongoing investigation into possible financial improprieties with the school system,” Morgan told the board.
Sixth-grade teacher Aesha Baldwin said the board denied raises to teachers, mandated one furlough day and slashed contributions to their tax-sheltered annuities as part of districtwide budget cuts.
“I was under the impression there was no money in the budget,” said Baldwin, who said she has been making $43,000 for the past four years.
Board member H. Paul Womack argued Monday that the $255,000 cost is only $500 more than the amount approved for Lewis’ compensation package in 2007.
“We just basically restored what was in the original contract,” he said, “and this is locked in for three years.”
Womack said the raise is fair and necessary to hold on to Lewis, who has already received two job offers with higher salaries.
“If you look at his goals, he rang the bell on each one he was supposed to do. He has 100 percent,” Womack said. “We’ve invested a lot of money in him, and I expect to get a return on him.”
Board member Eugene P. Walker, the only member who voted against the raise, said he believes Lewis – and all 13,000 district employees – deserve a raise, but he doesn’t think the timing is right.
In addition to a $255,000 salary, the contract grants Lewis a $2,500-a-month expense account and a monthly contribution of $1,250 to his tax sheltered annuity for the first year.
0 comments:
Post a Comment