Monroe County school board votes to give members big raise. Here’s why, what’s next.

Following a heated debate, the Monroe County Board of Education approved a major pay raise for itself earlier this month, attempting to align its salary with the pay rate of board members in neighboring districts.

Currently earning $75 per meeting, which the superintendent said is the lowest pay of any area school districts, board members voted 4-3 to boost their compensation to $600 a month. The decision followed a hearty discussion of potential financial troubles for the district and a controversial vote to opt out of state legislation offering property tax relief to certain homeowners — a move intended to preserve the board’s revenue.

“Well, when you vote to opt out of something the county voted for, you’re already taking something from the county, so (with) the fact that we opted out, I don’t see a problem with paying $600 per person,” said board member Robert Jenkins.

How much are school board members paid?

Monroe County’s board members aren’t paid the same way as many other districts, Superintendent Jim Finch said. The Monroe board members are only paid at every regular board or called board meeting, whereas neighboring school systems are paid monthly.

“If there’s one meeting per month, you just get paid for that meeting,” Finch said. “If we have multiple meetings, it may get up to $600 or it may not get up to $600.”

The approved proposal would pay members $600 each per month, regardless of the number of meetings.

Neighboring districts already pay board members hundreds of dollars per month, according to data provided by Monroe County.

Baldwin County and Bibb County Schools confirmed the data from Monroe County was correct, with members earning $500 in Baldwin and $600 in Bibb.

School board members in Houston County also earn $600 monthly for regularly scheduled meetings, as well as an additional $100 for called meetings, according to the district’s spokesperson Jennifer Jones.

Other nearby school districts did not immediately confirm their boards’ compensation rates.

Despite the low pay, board members Jeremy Goodwin and Priscilla Doster were among those who didn’t agree to the recommended pay hike, citing the big increase as unnecessary.

“Looking at the chart, it’s obvious that we definitely are far underpaid if you compare to all the other districts,” Doster said. “At this time, with the uncertainty of budgets, I mean we have hopes of having a lot more property tax coming in and a lot more sales tax coming in, a lot more money’s available, but right now nothing’s guaranteed except that those students are going to keep increasing in numbers…”

“I don’t feel like the board should pay themselves an eight-times increase. I just think that’s out of line,” Doster concluded.

Board member Eva Bilderback, who voted in favor of the pay increase, said she has served on the board for 18 years and has been paid $75 for every meeting since then.

What’s next?

Now, Monroe County school officials are waiting on legislative approval before the pay jump will officially take effect, said Kari Buckindail, MCSD communications director.

“The February 11th vote was just the first step in the process. After the vote, the decision required a signed resolution,” Buckindail told The Telegraph in an email. “Dr. Finch has already sent that to Rep. Dale Washburn. It also requires legislative approval before it can go into effect. We are waiting for that step to take place.”