Gwinnett County school board members unanimously agreed Thursday evening on a new two-year contract for longtime superintendent J. Alvin Wilbanks.
Under the new contract, Wilbanks’ base salary will increase by $10,000 to about $310,000. Most Gwinnett teachers received a 4 percent raise last year. Wilbanks’ raise is about 3.3 percent.
Wilbanks is among the nation’s highest-paid school superintendents, once you include other benefits. His salary in 2015 was $485,081, according to state data.
In addition to his base pay, Wilbanks will continue to receive a $1,500 monthly travel allowance, $1,200 a month for other job-related expenses, a $3,500 monthly retirement supplement and a $6,250 monthly longevity supplement as part of his total salary. Wilbanks’ contract also allows him to collect money for unused sick time and vacation days.
Other metro Atlanta school superintendents, such as Atlanta’s Meria Carstarphen, receive similar monthly travel allowances and expenses.
Gwinnett is Georgia’s largest school district, and the 13th largest in the United States, with about 176,000 students.
Wilbanks, whose 20th anniversary as superintendent will be in March, is one of the most influential education leaders in Georgia and the nation. He served on Gov. Nathan Deal’s Education Reform Commission and has worked on federal education improvement initiatives.
Wilbanks has enjoyed strong support from board members, who named the school district’s headquarters after him in 2014.
“We all appreciate (your) wisdom and expertise,” said board member Carole Boyce.
“You’ll have my best as long as I am your superintendent,” Wilbanks told the board.
The prior contract required the school board to inform Wilbanks by December 2015 whether or not it wanted to keep him as superintendent. Board members spent time over the last month working on the details of his new contract.
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